Stewart Rawlings Mott (December 4, 1937 – June 12, 2008) was an American philanthropist who founded the Stewart R. Mott Foundation. He was the son of Charles Stewart Mott (a co-founder of General Motors) and appeared on Nixon's Enemies List for his support of liberal causes.

Biography

Stewart Rawlings Mott was born on December 4, 1937, in Flint, Michigan, to Charles Stewart Mott and Ruth Rawlings, Mr. Mott's fourth wife. He wrote a thesis on Sophocles for a Master's Degree from Columbia, which he never finished. His philanthropy included abortion reform, birth control, sex research, feminism, arms control, gay rights, civil liberties, governmental reform, and research on extrasensory perception.

In the 1970s, Mott contracted for the purchase of a multimillion‐dollar quadruplex penthouse at The Galleria in New York City that he had designed to meet his specific needs—"allowing him to greet the sun on rising from his bed in the East Solarium and to watch it sink from a desk that faces west, all amid 10,000 square feet reserved for planting". By late 1975, never having occupied the penthouse, he was negotiating to get out of the purchase, whose price had risen to $3.5 million.

In 1978, Mott gave his occupation as "maverick" in the photo essay Cat People.

Shortly prior to his death Mott resided in Bermuda for most of his time, and also traveled to his numerous houses in the United States. His homes included a penthouse in 800 Park Avenue in Manhattan, a house trailer on a Florida farm, and a Chinese junk moored on the Hudson River in New York City.

References

  • The Last Word (NY Times): Stewart R. Mott Video obituary
  • CUNY.tv Day ay Night: Stuart Mott March 19, 1974, James Day interviews Stuart Mott (length: 27:58)