Herbert Kohl was a businessman, politician, and philanthropist who was a former U.S. Senator, previous owner of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, and co-founder of Kohl’s department stores with his brother and father. 

• Died: December 27, 2023
• Details of death: Died in Milwaukee at the age of 88.  

Herbert Kohl’s legacy 

Kohl lived out his 88 years in his hometown of Milwaukee as a prominent businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He earned his master’s degree at Harvard Business School, spent six years in the U.S. Army Reserves, and worked in real estate and investing before becoming president of Kohl’s, a family-owned chain made up mostly of grocery stores at the time. He served as president until 1978, when the company was sold. 

Around this same time, Kohl began getting involved in Wisconsin politics. He served as Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party for several years in the 1970s, but he left his mark on politics for good in 1989, when he was elected U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. He served in that capacity for 24 years, repeatedly winning reelection by double-digit margins. When he chose not to seek reelection in 2012, he said it was because “The office doesn’t belong to me.” 

Kohl also built his legacy around sports and philanthropy. In 1985, he purchased the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA to ensure the team did not move out of the city. He held the team for nearly three decades, selling in 2014. His love of sports and philanthropy crossed paths when he donated $25 million for the construction of a sports arena at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The arena now bears the Kohl name. He also founded the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program, which grants money to students, teachers, and schools throughout Wisconsin, among other forms of giving. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. 

On leaving the Senate

“The office doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the people of Wisconsin, and there is something to be said for not staying in office too long.”—from a May 2011 interview for the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel 

https://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/herbert-kohl-1935-2023-former-senator-and-co-founder-of-kohls/