Biography

Neil Bluhm was born in 1938. His father left home when he was 13, and his mother worked as a bookkeeper. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana and received a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

.

He started his career as a lawyer and eventually a partner

Partner (business rank)

A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position. Originally, these businesses were set up as legal partnerships in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits of the enterprise. The name has remained even though many of these...

 in the Chicago law firm

Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...

 of Mayer, Brown & Platt. In 1969, he co-founded JMB Realty

JMB Realty

JMB Realty Corporation is a real estate investment company based in Chicago that at one time was one of the largest property developers in the United States. The company was founded as Robert Judelson & Co. in 1968...

. He serves as a Managing Partner of Walton Street Capital and Lamb Partners. He is also President of the ALP Liquidating Trust and the Northbrook Corporation, and Chairman of the Board of HSP Gaming and the Falls Management Company. He owns the Holdings Acquisitions Co.. He has also worked for the Carlyle Group

Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group is an American-based global asset management firm, specializing in private equity, based in Washington, D.C. The Carlyle Group operates in four business areas: corporate private equity, real assets, market strategies and fund-of-funds, through its AlpInvest subsidiary...

. He is a former Co-Chairman of the Board of Urban Shopping Centers. He is Chairman of the Board of Midwest Gaming & Entertainment. He owns casinos in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

, the Rivers Casino

Rivers Casino

The Rivers Casino is a casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is owned by Holdings Acquisition Co. L.P., a joint venture of Walton Street Capital LLC and High Pitt Gaming LP...

 in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Des Plaines, Illinois

Des Plaines, Illinois

Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...

, and Casino Niagara

Casino Niagara

Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. It was originally an interim casino while the new Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort was constructed. Due to its prime location beside...

 in Niagara Falls, Canada.

He hosted President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's 49th birthday party, where admission was a $30,000 donation to the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

. He has made further donations to Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, Dick Durbin, Melissa Bean

Melissa Bean

Melissa Luburich Bean is a former U.S. Representative for the who served from 2005 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...

, Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...

, Lisa Madigan

Lisa Madigan

Lisa Madigan has been the 41st Attorney General of the US state of Illinois since 2003, when she became the first female attorney general for Illinois...

, Rod Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich

Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...

, Lou Lang

Lou Lang

Louis I. 'Lou' Lang is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 16th District since 1987.Lang was appointed to the Illinois House in 1987 by the Niles Township Democratic organization to fill the vacancy when Lang mentor Representative Alan Greiman became a...

, and Michael Madigan

Michael Madigan

Michael J. Madigan is the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois...

. An art patron, he sits on the Board of Trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...

 and the Whitney Museum of American Art

Whitney Museum of American Art

The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...

. He also has an art collection worth $100 million. He sits on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

.

As of September 2011, he is the 692nd richest person in the world, and the 212nd richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$ 2 billion. He is divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

d, and has three children. He lives in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.