Craig McCaw is an American billionaire and philanthropist. Alongside his brothers, he took over his father’s cable business, which they later sold to AT&T for $12.6 billion in 1996. ¹ He co-founded Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation (now named COM Family Foundation) in 1999, which makes grants to colleges and environmentalist advocacy organizations. ²

Career

In 1966, Craig McCaw and his brothers took over his father’s cable television business. They expanded the business eventually creating McCaw Cellular Communications and sold it to AT&T for $12.6 billion in 1996. ³

In 1990, McCaw co-founded Teledisic, a cellular satellite company with funding from Bill Gates and Boeing. It dissolved in 2002. ⁴ After selling McCaw Cellular Communications, McCaw helped restructure Nextel Communications, resulting in him founding Nextel International and co-founding Nextel Partners. He also co-founded Clearwire Corporation. ⁵

Philanthropy

In 1999, Craig McCaw and his then wife Susan McCaw founded Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation, which dissolved in 2019 following their divorce. It then became the COM Family Foundation and distributed $18 million worth of assets to Susan Rasinski McCaw Foundation as part of the divorce, of which Craig has no documented control. ^{6 7} Craig McCaw has continued to sit as president of COM Family Foundation as he was also president of Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation since its inception. ⁸

In 2019, top grants from Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation included $5 million to the Nature Conservancy, $1 million to Teach for America, $1 million to the Malala Fund, $994,680 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and $666,666 to Khan Academy. ⁹

1. “Craig McCaw.” Forbes. Accessed May 28, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/profile/craig-mccaw/?sh=48c9bd495de9.
2. Return of organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). The COM Family Foundation. 2020.
3. “Craig McCaw Biography.” The Nature Conservancy. Accessed May 28, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/our-people/craig-mccaw/.
4. “Craig McCaw.” Forbes. Accessed May 28, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/profile/craig-mccaw/?sh=48c9bd495de9.
5. “Craig McCaw Biography.” The Nature Conservancy. Accessed May 28, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/our-people/craig-mccaw/
6. Return of organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). The COM Family Foundation. 2020.
7. Return of organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Susan Rasinski McCaw Foundation. 2021.
8. Return of organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). The COM Family Foundation. 2020.
9. Return of organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation. 2019. Part XIV.