OMAHA (Neb. (AP) Walter Scott, a billionaire who was the former top executive at Peter Kiewit Sons Inc.'s construction company and helped Warren Buffetts conglomerate, has passed away. He donated his time to many causes, including Omaha construction projects. He was 90.
Scott's Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation said that Scott died Saturday. The cause of death was not mentioned by the foundation.
From 1988 to his death, Scott was a member of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. He also invested with Berkshire in its utility and energy units. Scott owned about 8% Berkshire Hathaway Energy stock and 105 Class-A Berkshire shares, with Buffett's Berkshire holding almost all the rest.
Scott was born in Omaha in 1931 and grew up in the Great Depression. He spent his entire career at Peter Kiewit Sons Inc., an Omaha-based construction firm that builds major projects around the globe. From overseeing construction projects in California, New York, to becoming the company's executive vice-president in 1965.
Walter Scott is a great model for citizens. Buffett told the Omaha World-Herald that Saturday's interview was a personal one. He was a builder in every sense, whether he was building Kiewit or physical things, or his vision for Omaha or Nebraska. He was never stopped.
Scott took over as chairman and CEO of the company after Peter Kiewit's death in 1979. He led it until 1998. Scott also served as Chairman of Level 3 Communications, a Kiewit spinoff until it was purchased in 2014.
Scott's wealth enabled him to become a philanthropist. Scott and Suzanne, his wife of 62 years, gave large sums of money to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Because of their contributions, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Cancer Research Tower is one of the main buildings of UNMC's new Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
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In honor of Scott's gift, sections of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha and the Holland Performing Arts Center are also named. Scott was also an avid supporter of Omaha's renowned zoo. The large aquarium is named after him and his wife.
Scott told the Omaha World-Herald he wanted nearly all his personal assets donated to his personal foundation which supports Omaha projects.
Scott stated to the World-Herald that my children were cared for long ago. It is their responsibility now what they do with their lives. In the end, almost everything will be donated to the foundation with the hope that it will continue to benefit my hometown for many more generations.
Walter was a director of many charitable and educational organisations and was chairman of the Omaha Zoological Society and Omaha Zoo Foundation boards. He also served as the Horatio Alger Society's Chairman. Heritage Services, Heritage Services, and the Board of Policy Advisors at the Peter Kiewit Institute.
