Amos Hostetter is a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who lives in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He is the co-founder of the Barr Foundation, which focuses on grantmaking on environmentalist programs addressing climate change. ¹

Hostetter made his fortune in the cable-television industry, where he was founding director and eventually chairman of the public affairs channel C-SPAN. ²

Hostetter is also a major political donor to the Democratic Party and its aligned candidates and political action committees. In the 2022 midterm election, he was a donor to most swing district Democratic candidates for Congress. ³

Background

Hostetter was born in New Jersey in 1937. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Amherst College in 1958 and completed an MBA at Harvard University. ⁴

In 1963, Hostetter invested $1,500 in a Boston cable TV company that eventually became Continental Cablevision. Over the next thirty years, Hostetter built the company into what eventually became the largest privately owned cable company in the United States. ⁵

During the time he was in the cable TV industry, Hostetter was a founding director and eventually became chairman of the public-affairs channel C-SPAN. Hostetter was also a chairman of the education initiative Cable in the Classroom. ⁶

Hostetter became a billionaire when he sold Continental to US West in 1996 for $11 billion. ⁷

Philanthropy

In 1997, Hostetter and his wife Barbara founded the Barr Foundation in Boston. ⁸ Since its founding, the Barr Foundation has given away more than $1 billion on projects mostly in and around Boston. The foundation is a major contributor to arts programs and environmentalist projects that are designed to fight climate change. ⁹

As of September 2022, Hostetter has given away more than 20 percent of his net worth. ¹⁰

The Hostetters are also donors to the Obama Foundation ¹¹ and the Center for Reproductive Rights. ¹²

Climate Change Activism

Hostetter is the co-chair of the Green Ribbon Commission, a commission of Boston’s business leaders. The purpose of the commission is to develop strategies to fight climate change and advise the city of Boston on its Climate Action Plan. ¹³

In September 2021, Hostetter co-authored an op-ed in Commonwealth Magazine that called for more aggressive action to fight climate change. The op-ed lamented the increasing severity in natural disasters and the rise of sea levels in Boston Harbor. The op-ed called for more “climate justice,” more investments into climate resilience, and the acceleration in the reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The op-ed also called for a more active and involved citizenry who would pressure lawmakers into supporting actions that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions further. ¹⁴

Political Giving

Hostetter is a major donor to the Democratic Party on the national level. In the 2022 midterm elections, he was a major contributor to swing district Democratic candidates running for Congress. He is also a major donor to super PACs aligned with the Democratic Party. ¹⁵

In 2017, he was revealed to be a major donor behind 2016 Massachusetts Question 2, an attempt to raise the charter school cap in Massachusetts. ¹⁶

He was also a major donor to a super PAC aligned with former moderate Republican Governor Charlie Baker called Massachusetts Majority PAC that donated to both Republicans and Democrats aligned with Baker who ran for state and local office. ¹⁷

1. “Amos B. Hostetter, Jr.” Barr Foundation. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.barrfoundation.org/bios/amos-hostetter.
2. ^[1] “Amos B. Hostetter, Jr.” Barr Foundation. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.barrfoundation.org/bios/amos-hostetter.
3. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Amos%2BHostetter%2B&contributor_state=MA.
4. Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
5. Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
6.  ^[1] “Amos B. Hostetter, Jr.” Barr Foundation. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.barrfoundation.org/bios/amos-hostetter.
7. Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
8. Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
9.  Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
10. Nine on Forbes 400 Have given Away at Least 20 Percent of Net Worth …” Philanthropy News Digest. September 29,
    2022. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/nine–on–forbes–400–have–given–away–at–least–20–percent–of–net–worth.
11. “Contributors.” Obama Foundation. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.obama.org/contributors/.
12. “Through the Power of Law – Center for Reproductive Rights.” Center for Reproductive Rights. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2018_Annual.pdf.
13. Jurberg, Ash. Jurberg, Ash. “This Boston Billionaire Continues to Give Away Milllions.” NewsBreak Original. December 23, 2022. https://original.newsbreak.com/@ash-jurberg-560946/2868171397334-this-boston-billionaire-continues-to-give-away-milllions.
14. Brown, Bob, Amos Hostetter, Anne Klibanski, Alan Leventhal, Bud Ris, Kate Walsh, and Gwill York. “All Hands on Deck to Address Climate Crisis.” Office of the President of Boston University. September 28, 2021. https://www.bu.edu/president/all-hands-on-deck-to-address-climate-crisis/.
15. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Amos%2BHostetter%2B&contributor_state=MA.
16. McNerney, Kathleen, and Meghna Chakrabarti. “Unmasking Dark Money behind Charter School Ballot Question.” WBUR. September 15, 2017. https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2017/09/15/dark-money.
17. ^[1] Mohl, Bruce. “Super PAC with Ties to Baker Keeps Cruising.” Commonwealth Magazine. January 21, 2020. https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/super-pac-with-ties-to-baker-keeps-cruising/.