Jenrette was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1929. He attended the city’s public school system and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in journalism. At UNC, he was a natural leader, becoming president of his fraternity and editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the Army Counterintelligence Corps before attending Harvard Business School.

In 1959, Jenrette cofounded the investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) with two fellow Harvard graduates. He established the firm’s reputation as an insightful provider of high-quality research and analysis. After Equitable Life Assurance Society purchased DLJ in 1985, he became the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. His leadership philosophy is summarized in his 1997 book, The Contrarian Manager, in which he writes about the importance of finding creative solutions to intractable problems as well as building and nurturing a talented staff:

“My lifelong fascination with what makes people tick...has been my chief strength as a manager. Understanding people, how we are each different, is essential.”

Jenrette mentored countless individuals over the course of his career, many times in informal ways with encouragement and timely advice. To honor this legacy, the Jenrette Foundation has formalized its namesake’s penchant for mentorship through multiple Jenrette Internships in historic preservation, the Jenrette Fellowship in historic preservation, an externship with the American College of Building Arts, and the William L. Thompson Collections Fellowship, named for Jenrette’s partner of 45 years, Bill Thompson (1928-2013).

Jenrette’s interest in historic preservation began in the late 1960’s with his purchase of Roper House in Charleston, South Carolina, and Edgewater in the Hudson River Valley. Over the next 50 years, Jenrette purchased and restored old houses throughout the United States and the Caribbean, including Millford. In 1993, he founded Classical American Homes Preservation Trust with his gift of Ayr Mount in Hillsborough, North Carolina, the first of his properties to be open to the public.

Throughout his life, he served on the boards of directors of numerous educational and philanthropic organizations, including Harvard University, the University of North Carolina, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Charleston Foundation, Historic Hudson Valley, and The Duke Endowment. His exceptional generosity and dedication to the cause of historic preservation earned him many accolades, including the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Hadrian Award from the World Monuments Fund.

When Jenrette died in 2018, his New York Times obituary headline called him a “Wall St. Titan and Preservationist of Homes.” But, behind the headlines, Dick Jenrette was a hard-working, loyal, and thoughtful friend and mentor who pushed himself and others to thrive in their endeavors. Speaking about his passion for preservation, he once told a Harvard Business Review reporter, “I like to begin things; that’s my great weakness, I guess. It’s always fun to start a project, but then you have to discipline yourself to finish.”