Herb Kohl, a longtime Democratic senator from Wisconsin and former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has died, his philanthropic organization announced Wednesday. He was 88.

A popular figure across his native Wisconsin, he built a fortune after founding Kohl’s department store alongside his father and brother, going on to become president and CEO of the company before staking a then-staggering sum of $20 million on the Bucks in 1985 to keep them from leaving town, a record at the time for an NBA franchise.

Though it would later turn out to be a great investment, he said at the time that he saw the transaction as an investment in the larger community of Milwaukee, which was struggling to find its footing amid a recession and deindustrialization.

“I didn’t go into this to make money,” Kohl said when he first bought the team. “I just hope to break even. Money doesn’t motivate me. The pursuit of the almighty dollar? That’s not me.”

It was an attitude he would carry while launching a career in politics just three years later, winning election to the U.S. Senate in 1988 with his catchphrase: “Nobody’s Senator But Yours.”

He was one of the richest members of the Senate during his 24-year tenure, and was lauded by members on both sides of the aisle for his moderate voting record and humble demeanor. Kohl famously shunned the spotlight—despite his place in a body often built on attention-seeking behavior.

“I am a person who does not believe in invective,” he once said, according to the Associated Press. “I never go out and look to grab the mic or go in front of the TV camera. When I go to work everyday, I check my ego at the door.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

QOSHE - Herb Kohl, Beloved Senator and Ex-Milwaukee Bucks Owner, Dies at 88 - Brett Bachman
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Herb Kohl, Beloved Senator and Ex-Milwaukee Bucks Owner, Dies at 88

27 8
28.12.2023

Herb Kohl, a longtime Democratic senator from Wisconsin and former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has died, his philanthropic organization announced Wednesday. He was 88.

A popular figure across his native Wisconsin, he built a fortune after founding Kohl’s department store alongside his father and brother, going on to become president and CEO of the company before staking a then-staggering sum of $20........

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