STUART STEELE
Founder, Board President
Stuart and Suzanne Steele have been married for 59 years. They started their family with modest means, raised three children, and have eleven grandchildren. During that same time, Stuart developed a philosophy in business and investing to achieve remarkable results - "Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you can see farther."
Stuart's professional journey began in 1972 when he founded Berkshire Builders. His approach to his first construction project was anything but conventional. Armed with a blank yellow pad, he crafted a step-by-step plan from scratch. This unique thinking and practical planning set the tone for his future projects. In 1974, he added real estate development to his construction business. He assembled a formidable team that eventually grew to over 500 employees and his relentless commitment to continuously improving led Berkshire Builders to complete projects routinely start to finish in just 90 days. By 1984, Stuart's companies built multiple hotels, restaurants, office buildings, residential developments, over 1,000 residential homes, projects for local housing authorities, developments for the U.S. Military, and more than 4,000 apartments, 2,000 of which he still owns. By 1989, Stuart sold his hotel and restaurant companies and established EastPoint Properties to manage his real estate portfolio.
An early adopter of technology, Stuart purchased his first computer in 1974 for use within his construction business. Continually buying and using the newest machines and software, both personally and professionally, he developed a passion for technology and innovation. Having transitioned away from real estate development, he purchased a banking software company out of receivership in 1989. Stuart and his team grew what became EastPoint Technology from 9 employees to over 100 employees and achieved a successful exit when it was acquired in 1996. Shortly after, he re-hired many of those employees to build an end-to-end property management software company called BostonPost Technology. This was another profitable venture which was acquired in 2011.
While Stuart began investing in the stock market in 1997 with a significant position in Intel, he dedicated himself to investing full-time after selling his software companies. He approached investing with a clean sheet of paper, just as he had done with his real estate and software ventures. Relying exclusively on his research, Stuart allocates his entire portfolio to one company at a time. He is a patient and long-term investor and has owned stock in just two publicly traded companies in the last 17 years, Apple from 2007 - 2017 and Tesla from 2017 to today.
Stuart and Suzanne quietly and generously supported organizations and influenced the next generation to engage in philanthropy. Wanting to continue their legacy of support for decades, they dedicated their multibillion-dollar fortune to helping others by creating a private foundation. Stuart approached this endeavor with a lifetime of learning, a curious mind, and, once more, a clean sheet of paper. The foundation's mission - to provide sustainable access to healthcare, water, food, and education for people in need worldwide through advances in technology and engineering - is the culmination of Stuart and Suzanne’s commitment to generosity and Stuart's 50 years of experience.
Today, Stuart spends much of his time mentoring the CEO of the foundation and the leaders of the companies the Steele Foundation for Hope funds. Since its inception in January of 2022, Stuart and Suzanne have provided more than $330,000,000 in funding and pledged their future estate to the foundation. In its first three years, the Steele Foundation for Hope has already helped people in need in 103 countries worldwide.