Robert Haas (investor)

Haas was born in Cleveland.[1] He grew up there, but left home when he was a high school junior, moving to a rooming house.[2] He received a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University in 1969 and a degree in law from the Harvard University Law School in 1972.[3]

In 1984 he and Thomas Hicks formed the investment company Hicks & Haas in Dallas, Texas.[1] Together, they purchased 49 percent of the soft drink companies 7-Up and Dr Pepper and then resold the combined companies in 1988 to Prudential-Bache Securities for $600 million.[1]

After Hicks & Haas dissolved in 1989,[4] Haas co-founded Haas Wheat & Harrison in 1992 to focus on middle-market transactions. Among his co-founders were Thomas Harrison, who had previously worked with Haas at Hicks & Haas and Douglas Wheat, a former investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.[5]

At the time of his death Haas was a senior adviser for New MainStream Capital, an investment firm.[2]

Haas took up photography in 1994 with no prior experience.[6] After buying $2000 USD in camera gear, and learning how to use it, he did his first aerial photography from a helicopter on a Kenyan safari.[6][1] He went on to work for National Geographic Magazine as a photographer for ten years, and to publish four coffee-table books on his aerial photography over Africa and Latin America.[2][1]

In 2012 Haas began collecting motorcycles.[3] In 2018, he opened the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery in Dallas to display the collection, which includes several custom-made motorcycles.[2] He was the executive producer of the film Leaving Tracks, which documented his motorcycle collecting and profiled several custom motorcycle builders who contributed to his collection.[7][8]

• Through the Eyes of the Gods, 2005
• Through the Eyes of the Condor, 2007[9][10]
• Through The Eyes Of The Vikings, 2010[11]
• I dreamed of Flying like a Bird, 2010[12]