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Herb Kohl, a former U.S. senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88 following a “brief illness.” Herb Kohl Philanthropies announced his passing.
“Throughout his life, Herb Kohl always put people first — from his employees and their families to his customers and countless charitable organizations and efforts,” Herb Kohl Philanthropies director of giving JoAnne Anton said.
“Herb Kohl Way isn’t just the name of a street in front of the Fiserv Forum. The Herb Kohl Way perfectly sums up a legacy of humility, commitment, compromise, and kindness to countless people he worked with, served, and helped along the way. Those values will live on through his Foundation.”
“They came with zero,” Kohl said of his parents, according to the Journal-Sentinel. “None of us ever thought we could get by on anything less than a full effort in life.”
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wrote on X: “A Milwaukeean and Wisconsinite through and through, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl dedicated his life to serving our kids, our communities, our state, and our country. Sen. Kohl was, without a doubt, nobody’s senator but ours. Kathy and I are devastated by the news of his passing.”
Former President Bill Clinton tweeted: “Herb Kohl was a great public servant who cared deeply about the people of Wisconsin and their future. He was a kind man, an effective senator, a dedicated NBA team owner, and a generous philanthropist. I’ll always be grateful to have the chance to know him and work closely with him.”
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrote on X: “Senator Herb Kohl was a very generous man and a fighter for Wisconsin who lived by his promise to be ‘nobody’s senator but yours.’ He was a mentor when I first got to the Senate and my predecessor as chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee. I am saddened by his passing, and my thoughts are with his loved ones at this difficult time.”
Herb Kohl, former NBA team owner and US senator, dead at 88 https://t.co/Eql3VQ712U
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 28, 2023
After the sale of Kohl’s to British American Tobacco in 1972—when the chain had fifty supermarkets and six department stores—Herb remained on as a manager until 1979.
Between 1989 and 2013, Kohl was a Democratic U.S. senator, serving four terms before stepping down.
In 1985, he paid $18 million to John Fitzgerald for the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2014, he sold the franchise to New York financiers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry for $550 million. James Dinan, another New York financier, bought into the team later that year, and Lasry sold his equity to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam earlier this year.
“Kohl was adamant about the team remaining in Milwaukee, rebuffing an offer from NBA legend Michael Jordan — who would go on to buy and later sell the Charlotte Hornets — and even kicked in $100 million for the construction of the team’s new arena, the Fiserv Forum, after he had sold the team,” the New York Post reported.
“In the 1990s, Kohl also donated $25 million for the construction of the Kohl Center, which hosts the Badger basketball and hockey teams at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” the Post added.
“His humility was notable — for a man who certainly could have afforded the greatest luxury — it was not unusual to find him at a table in a downtown café,” Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday night.
“He did not put on any pretense of importance or snobbery. He was always Herb.”
