Neil Bluhm
Businessperson
title: "Neil Bluhm" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1938-births", "20th-century-american-businesspeople", "20th-century-american-jews", "20th-century-american-philanthropists", "21st-century-american-businesspeople", "21st-century-american-jews", "21st-century-american-philanthropists", "20th-century-people-from-illinois", "21st-century-people-from-illinois", "american-billionaires", "american-businesspeople-in-the-casino-industry", "american-businesspeople-in-the-real-estate-industry", "businesspeople-from-chicago", "chicago-bulls-owners", "chicago-white-sox-owners", "gies-college-of-business-alumni", "illinois-democrats", "lawyers-from-chicago", "northwestern-university-pritzker-school-of-law-alumni", "northwestern-university-trustees", "people-associated-with-mayer-brown", "philanthropists-from-chicago"] description: "Businessperson" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Bluhm" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Businessperson ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Neil G. Bluhm |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| alma_mater | University of Illinois (B.A.) |
| Northwestern University (J.D.) | |
| occupation | Businessman |
| known_for | Commercial real estate, casinos |
| spouse | Kimberly Paige Bluhm (m. 2022), Barbara Bluhm-Kaul (divorced) |
| children | 3 |
| :: |
| name = Neil G. Bluhm | birth_date = | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, US | alma_mater = University of Illinois (B.A.) Northwestern University (J.D.) | nationality = | occupation = Businessman | known_for = Commercial real estate, casinos | spouse = Kimberly Paige Bluhm (m. 2022), Barbara Bluhm-Kaul (divorced) | children = 3 Neil Gary Bluhm (born 1938) is an American billionaire real estate and casino magnate. He is a partner of Midwest Gaming & Entertainment, which owns several casinos. He had an estimated net worth of US$8.6 billion in September 2025.
Early life
Bluhm was born to a Jewish family in 1938 in Chicago. His father left the family when he was 13, and his mother worked as a bookkeeper. He grew up in a cramped apartment near his immigrant grandparents. He attended a high school on Chicago's northwest side.
He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1959, studying accounting, and in 1962, he received a juris doctor degree from Northwestern University.
Career
He started his career as a lawyer and eventually a partner in the Chicago law firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt. In 1969, he co-founded JMB Realty
In 1994, he co-founded Walton Street Capital, a private equity firm. Soon thereafter, with Greg Carlin, he co-founded Rush Street Gaming.
Bluhm and his children own real estate in Chicago and elsewhere, including 900 North Michigan, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago and Ritz Carlton Hotel Chicago. The family is a minority owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox.
According to Forbes, he had a net worth of US$7.0 billion in October 2021.
Personal life
He is divorced from art collector and philanthropist Barbara Bluhm-Kaul. They have 3 children: Andy Bluhm, who runs hedge fund Delaware Street Capital;
He lives in Chicago.
An art patron, he sits on the board of trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Political contributions
Bluhm is a Democrat. He hosted President Barack Obama's 49th birthday party, where admission cost a $30,000 donation to the Democratic National Committee.
Philanthropy
In 2005, he funded the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute with a $10 million gift.
In 2013, he made a $25 million gift to Northwestern University, including $15 million earmarked for the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
In 2015, he made a $1 million donation to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 2022, he made a $45 million donation to Northwestern Medicine to establish the Bluhm Heart Hospital.
References
References
- Harris, Melissa. (July 17, 2011). "Knowing when to hold them". [[Chicago Tribune]].
- Harris, Melissa. (March 16, 2015). "Son of billionaire casino magnate Neil Bluhm invests in competitor". [[Chicago Tribune]].
- Cutler, Irving. (1996). "The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb". [[University of Illinois Press]].
- (July 22, 2022). "Board Member Confirmation: Leslie Bluhn". www.americorps.gov.
- Phillips, Stephen. (June 13, 1987). "A REALTY CONCERN WITH A BIG APPETITE". [[The New York Times]].
- (2016). "Media Guide". [[Chicago Bulls]].
- "Neil Bluhm".
- "Neil Bluhm".
- Kapos, Shia. (February 27, 2015). "Billionaire developer Bluhm's favorite project". [[Crain Communications]].
- Lazare, Lewis. (December 17, 2013). "NU School of Law receives its largest gift ever". [[American City Business Journals]].
- Kapos, Shia. (September 2, 2015). "Neil Bluhm, Holly Hunt each donate $1 million to School of Art Institute". [[Crain Communications]].
- Schencker, Lisa. (February 14, 2022). "Northwestern plans new 'heart hospital,' with $45 million donation from billionaire Neil Bluhm". [[Chicago Tribune]].
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