Honoring our Benefactor:
Overview
A self-made entrepreneur, Gordon Arbuthnot Cain (1912-2002) was a versatile individual who put his trust in innovation and human integrity. The son of Gordon Dunn Cain and Ola Arbuthnot, he was born in Baton Rouge on May 31, 1912, and grew up in Baton Rouge, Calhoun, and Rayville, Louisiana. As a child, Cain witnessed the devastating chaos created by the boll weevil within the cotton industry and strived to make a change. Although Cain's father was a chemist, his choice of major was more so influenced by his research into employment opportunities. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and simultaneously participated in ROTC. Cain later graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1933.
Public Image
Gordon A. Cain was unlike most self-employed people. Many focus their energy on one company for all their profit, but Cain had other plans. He believed in wearing many different hats and ensuring that his employees collect some profit as well. He was a kind, respectable man who put all his trust and faith into human beings. He believed in lending a helping hand to anyone in need of one. "After the companies I took over became successful, people working for them had something to look forward to."
Life and Career
Gordon A. Cain's first successful employment was at Freeport Sulphur Company in Texas. After World War II, he returned to his position, but later moved to Houston to start-up Petro-Tex Chemical and help facilitate the joint venture of Food Machinery Corporation and Tenneco.
Cain became the vice-president of Conoco in 1964, where he catapulted the business from $25 million to $600 million in earnings. Following his triumphs, Cain made the decision to leave the Conoco and help troubled companies in need. He spent the next twelve years of his life traveling from place to place, providing input, and helping manage troubled enterprises.
In 1984, Cain completed his first leveraged buyout of Vista Chemical. Then, purchased a second ethylene plant in Corpus Christi, which he planned to combine with six other ethylene-related plants that Cain had ownership of. United, the groups of plants became Cain Chemical, which he sold for $1.2 billion in less than a year.
An unprecedented visionary, Cain tried to leave the corporate world behind him, but the lifestyle was not a good fit. Given his background, investment bankers took interest in Cain’s extensive knowledge, asking for help with existing companies that Cain called “dead end enterprises.” Before he knew it, Cain had embarked on another journey around the world, but this time helping save troubled companies. He did so well in fact, that Cain went on to create his own investment banking firm, The Sterling Group, Inc. in 1982, which works alongside leveraged acquisitions in the petrochemical industry.
Military Service: WWII Veteran
Motivated by his background in ROTC, Gordon A. Cain felt compelled to enlist in World War II in 1939. He served as a commander of a heavy mortar battalion in the Pacific arena landing area on Leyte and Okinawa.
For his service, Cain received two Bronze Starts and a Purple Heart in recognition of the wound he received during his battle in Okinawa.
Although the war paused Cain's career, it gave him first hand experience on how to manage a team and work alongside his beloved comrades.
Mary Cain (1925-2021)
Mary Hancock Cain (1925-2021) was the beloved wife of Gordon A. Cain. She attended the University of Wisconsin at the age of 16. When World War II began in 1993, Mary began work as an assistant to the president of Bell Aircraft outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Following the war, she moved to Houston, finding work at The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
On the 8th of April 1972, George and Mary Cain were married and continued to live happy and fulfilling lives. Blessed with great fortune, they went on to establish The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation, later known as the Gordon A. Cain Foundation, that practiced philanthropy and generously provided support to many charities, scholarships, and education.
The Gordon A. Cain Foundation
Founded in 2007
In 1988, Gordon A. Cain and his wife Mary Cain established The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation, recognized for financially supporting local education, social and health projects, charitable organizations, and public policy groups with limited-government, free-market orientation.
In 2007, the foundation awarded a historic grant of $100 million to the John Motley Morehead Foundation in support of the Morehead Scholars Program at the University of North Carolina. Additionally, the remaining funds of The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation were used to establish The Gordon A. Cain Foundation to continue Cain’s philanthropic legacy and to honor his magnanimous spirit. Cain was a self-made man who was always looking for a better way to improve lives. He put his faith in innovation and trust in human beings wholeheartedly.
The Gordon A. Cain Foundation works to support non-profit organizations that provide valuable service and research through bi-yearly grants. It is a family-run foundation based in Houston, Texas, that became a cornerstone for Cain’s personal happiness and professional success through in his entrepreneurial years.
It feels good to help other people.
Gordon. A. Cain
