George F. Russell Jr., 93, turned family firm into investing giant, dies
George F. Russell Jr., who shaped a small, family-run investment business into a global force managing hundreds of billions of dollars in assets, died at his home near Tacoma last month. He was 93.
Russell, the former chair of Seattle-headquartered Russell Investments, was remembered as a transformative figure in the financial services industry, following his death on Dec. 18.
Speaking Friday, his son Eric Russell recalled his late father believed “nothing was impossible.”
The patriarch is best known for the legacy he built at the Frank Russell Co., which evolved into Russell Investments. The firm managed $370 billion in global assets as of September, serving clients across 30 countries and running offices in 17 cities around the globe, according to its website.
Russell “challenged conventional thinking and expanded opportunity for pension funds, advisors, and generations of individual investors alike,” according to the family obituary written by Eric, 63.
‘The world needs more guys like him’
The son of George and Mary, Russell was born in 1932. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, a prestigious New Hampshire boarding school, and succeeded as a champion wrestler. He also developed a passion for mountaineering.
Russell went to study at Stanford University and Harvard Business School.
Drafted into the U.S. Army after college, Russell relocated to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before heading to Tacoma.
From there, he built up the Frank Russell Co., which was founded by his grandfather. At his side was the late Jane T. Russell, his wife of almost five decades and a former Stanford classmate.
“Her fingerprints are all over the Frank Russell Co.,” Eric told the Seattle Times, emphasizing his mom’s impact on the business.
Together, Jane and George Russell fostered a corporate culture that prioritized family-friendly policies, including sabbaticals.
The company grew expeditiously. By 1982, it was advising IBM, AT&T and General Motors on investment strategies for their corporate pension funds, according to the London Stock Exchange Group.
Two years later, the company launched the Russell US Indexes, including the Russell 2000, which LSEG considers “the leading benchmarks for institutional investors in US equities, with approximately $9 trillion in associated assets under management,” as reported in 2023.
Eric estimated in the family obituary that, by the late 1990s, the Frank Russell Co. was made up of more than 1,400 employees.
“You’ll hear everybody that knew him talk about his integrity,” Eric said. “He was impatient to move the ball forward, but he wasn’t impatient with people.”
Riding to work together when Eric was a teen, the father-son pair made a game of pitching business ideas to each other. Eric looked forward to those car rides.
His family eventually sold the company to Northwestern Mutual Life, a financial services organization, in 1999. In its current iteration, Russell Investments manages assets and consults on investments, with around 2,000 employees, according to LinkedIn.
Russell’s vision expanded beyond business, as he threw his support behind international causes.
In 1990, Russell founded a nonprofit, 20-20 Investment Association, centered on investing in emerging markets. With that in mind, he brought delegations of investors to Eastern Europe, Russia and China.
He also filled the role of chair at the National Bureau of Asian Research, a nonpartisan think tank, for over a decade, starting in 1997.
Russell chaired the EastWest Institute, another think tank, where he focused on foreign affairs involving Germany, the former Soviet Union, the U.S. and more.
Ban Ki-moon, then the secretary-general of the United Nations, mentioned Russell in a 2008 address, saying: “Under the leadership of George Russell and (former Finnish President) Martti Ahtisaari, the East-West Institute is challenging each of us to rethink our international security priorities in order to get things moving again.”
In 1999, Russell and Jane founded The Russell Family Foundation, a private foundation in Gig Harbor that makes “impact-aligned” investments in causes like sustainable forestry, renewable energy and affordable housing.
The couple also worked to create the Museum of Glass, a contemporary art museum in downtown Tacoma, which opened in 2002.
That year, Jane died at the age of 67 from cancer.
In 2003, Russell wed Dion Peterson, a longtime friend and Jane’s former college roommate.
Over the past three decades, Russell racked up honors, such as the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2009. His book, “Success by Ten,” with Michael Sheldon, was published in 2009 and detailed his lessons in business.
“George was a visionary leader whose roots in Tacoma shaped a global legacy,” Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards told the Tacoma News Tribune. “His impact on Tacoma and on generations of leaders he mentored will endure far beyond his remarkable lifetime.”
Outside of his professional life, Russell could likely be found in the mountains or on the water. Summers were spent in Alaska on his boat, Shadowfax. He also practiced woodworking and harvested corn and apples on his family farm along Puget Sound.
Eric wants his father to be recognized not only for his accomplishments but also for his sense of humor, his fierce loyalty and his very human tick: feet that fidgeted when he was nervous.
“He would say, ‘I want to make the world a safer place for my grandchildren,’ ” Eric told the Times.
“The world needs more guys like him,” Eric continued.
Russell leaves behind several children and their partners: Dion and Greg Rurik, Eric and Marcee Russell, Sarah and Tim Cavanaugh, and Jileen Russell, who is his son Richard’s widow. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
In addition to Jane, he was preceded in death by his second wife, Peterson, and his eldest son, Richard.
Russell’s loved ones plan to host a private celebration of life and welcome donations to nonprofits Splash, Communities In Schools of Peninsula, Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity and NW Furniture Bank.