Stanley G. Tate

Stanley G. Tate (born April 25, 1928) is an American real estate developer, founder of Tate Enterprises, Republican party donor, and the creator of the Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program.

Tate was born to a Jewish family and graduated with a B.S. from the University of Florida in 1948. He used his savings as a waiter to buy his first Miami house in 1948. In 1954, he founded Stanley Tate Builders Inc which focused on building houses and apartment buildings; and in 1959, expanded into constructing strip malls, warehouses, and office buildings. In 1969, he established Highpoint of Delray Builders Inc which focused on condominiums. In 1960, he established Investments Diversifed Limited which expanded into real estate activities in South Carolina and non-real estate investments. In 1986, he founded the holding company Tate Enterprises which today is a business conglomerate with investments in hotels, banks, steel, and auto part manufacturering with branches in China, London, and New York. Tate purchased Studio 54 after founders Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager were sent to prison for tax evasion; and hired them back to run the club after they were released. In the 1970s, Tate served as mayor of Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.

Tate has been a Republican since the 1950s and was a personal friend of President George H.W. Bush who named him as Chairman of the National Advisory Board of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), the agency that managed and liquidated banks’ assets during the S&L crisis. He continued with the role under the administration of President Bill Clinton until his resignation in 1993 stating "Mr. President, Washington is a vicious city . . . full of rumors, allegations, and accusations, without much, if any regard for truthfulness or factuality." He served as the Miami-Dade County co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Tate is a prominent backer of Republican politicians having close relationships with Florida politicians Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as well as national leaders, Eric Cantor and John Boehner. Tate has been highly critical of President Barack Obama - who vetted him as a possible candidate to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Tate founded the Florida Prepaid College Program which enables parents to pay for their children's tuition in monthly installments over 18 years. He served as Board Chairman from 1987 to 2005. On June 26, 2006, then Governor Jeb Bush signed House Bill 263 into law renaming the program the Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program.

Tate is a strong supporter of Israel and was a founding member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) founded in 1954. Tate served as president of Temple Israel, the oldest reform synagogue in Miami.

In 1949, Tate married to Joanne "Joni" Greenwood; they have two sons, J. Kenneth "Kenny" Tate and Jimmy Tate. Tate is retired and his sons run the company.