Foster Stephen Friess (April 2, 1940 – May 27, 2021) was an American investment manager and prominent donor to the Republican Party and to Christian right causes. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Wyoming in the 2018 election, losing in the primary to State Treasurer Mark Gordon. In 1999, CNBC dubbed Friess one of the "century’s great investors." In a 2001 article, BusinessWeek suggested Friess "may be the longest-surviving successful growth-stock picker, having navigated markets for 36 years, in his own firm since 1974." Personal life Friess was born on April 2, 1940, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, the son of Ethel (Foster) and Albert Friess. He grew up on a farm, where his father was a cattle dealer. As a student at Rice Lake High School, Friess was valedictorian of his class and a member of the basketball and track teams. A first-generation college graduate, Friess attended the University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin–Madison), where he earned a degree in business administration. As a student, he served as president of Chi Phi fraternity, enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and was named one of the "ten most outstanding senior men." In 1962, he married fellow student Lynnette Estes, with whom he had four children. Friess was a born-again Christian. Personal style Friess often joked about his wealth in public appearances, while at the same time drawing attention to his financial status. In early 2020, he said on his website that his business was worth $15 billion. although in 2012 he had told a reporter that he was not a billionaire. Estimates at that time placed his wealth in the hundreds of millions. At an event to celebrate Friess' 70th birthday, he gave away $7.7 million to the guests' favorite charities. He typically wore a cowboy hat in public. He embraced the Western image as part of moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1992. He said he made the move because Wyoming's lack of an income tax helped him avoid "increasingly onerous" taxes in Pennsylvania. Progressive website ThinkProgress has characterized Friess as funding Islamophobic campaigns, while he also made statements supporting gay rights, citing them as an issue of religious liberty. He made some comments on the issue of birth control, stating that women should simply put an aspirin between their knees rather than take birth control. Career After graduating from college, Friess trained to be