Robert Addison Day, a noted philanthropist and the man behind L.A.’s fourth largest money management firm, died on Sept. 14 at the age of 79. 

Day, the grandson of oil tycoon William Myron Keck, founded Trust Company of the West, known today as TCW Group Inc., in 1971. Under his leadership the firm grew from $2 million assets at its founding to being sold three decades later to French bank Société Générale for $2.5 billion. Despite selling 70% of the company then, Day stayed on as chair of TCW until 2009. 

Day was also the founder and chair of the downtown-based investment firm Oakmont Corp.

Day was heavily involved in the W.M. Keck Foundation, serving as its chair until his death. The foundation, founded by Day’s grandfather, was dedicated to supporting science, engineering and medical research. Under his oversight, the organization doled out more than $2 billion in grants, many of which built out extensive biomedical research initiatives for top schools in the area, including CalTech, UCLA and USC.

Day was born in Los Angeles and studied economics at Claremont McKenna College. From his personal worth, Day donated to his alma mater. In 2007 the businessman established The Robert Day Scholars Program with a $200 million endowment that, at the time, was the largest recorded gift to a liberal arts institution in the country. Day served as a trustee for the university for 50 years, and Claremont honored his contributions by naming a 120,000-square-foot research facility after him. The Robert Day Sciences Center is slated to open next fall.

Day served on a plethora of boards throughout his career. In 2002 he was tapped by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

On the local level, Day was a Life Trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a member of The Broad Foundation’s Board of Governors. 

He is survived by his wife, Marlyn Day, three children, his brother Matt and four grandchildren.