The Legacy-Heart of Henry W. Bloch

Kansas Citians learned yesterday (April 23, 2019) of the passing of one of its legendary citizens, Henry W. Bloch (1922 – 2019).

I met Mr. Bloch in person only one time to shake his hand in a long receiving line, and I also heard him speak several times as a part of large audiences, so I really cannot claim to know him personally.  Yet, as I have read the overnight news reports of his life and reflected on his legacy, I am struck by how personally he impacted my own life through the three pillars of his philanthropy:

• Education: On the very date of his passing, I lectured to entrepreneurship students in a classroom at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, where I hold an appointment as “Entrepreneur in Residence.”
• Art: I have enjoyed visiting the collections in the Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for years, and more recently I was thrilled to view Marion and Henry Bloch’s major personal collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings so generously donated and now housed in the museum’s Bloch Galleries, created through a $12 million renovation they funded.
• Medicine: I had three significant surgeries in 2016 at the Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute, performed by brilliant neurosurgeons made possible by a $25 million contribution from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation.

Additionally, looking to the source of Mr. Bloch’s wealth that created his opportunity for financial generosity, both of my sons had their 2018 personal tax returns prepared, at highly affordable rates, in H&R Bloch offices in small and medium cities located in different states.

In my lecture yesterday evening I made the point that capitalism is propelled by entrepreneurship, and the driving force of capitalism is the natural urge to create wealth.  While wealth itself is amoral, the purposes for which a person uses his or her wealth is at the heart of morality.

An ancient saying explains, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  I am grateful today for the places where we now find the heart of Mr. Bloch.