Robert N. Klein II

Robert Nicholas "Bob" Klein II, 61, is a stem cell advocate. He initiated California Proposition 71, which succeeded in establishing the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, of which Klein is now the head.

Before getting involved in stem cell advocacy, he was a housing developer and lawyer. He lives in Portola Valley, California and works in Palo Alto, where he used to live.

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Stem Cell Advocacy

He was a chief author of Proposition 71 and was the chair of the Yes on 71 campaign. He donated $3 million to the cause, the largest donation, and ran the campaign from the Klein Financial Corporation.

After the election, Proposition 71 became Article XXXV of the California Constitution and the Yes on 71 campaign became the the California Research and Cures Coalition, a stem cell advocacy organization. Klein was the head of that organization until he took the position at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the organization created by the ballot initiative.

Early Career

Klein attended Stanford Law. Soon after graduating law school, he joined the firm of William Glikbarg, a Southern California housing developer who also taught housing law at Stanford.

He made his multi-million dollar fortune developing low-income housing. He included market-rate units within subsidized projects to help generate financing for projects.

When Nixon administration housing secretary George W. Romney ended public housing subisides in January 1973, Klein and an associate, Michael J. BeVier, successfully persuaded the california legislature to create the California Housing Finance Agency, which subsidizes housing developments with low-interest bonds. (Klein did not use CHFA money in his real estate deals to eliminate the potential for a conflict of interest.) BeVier wrote about this in the book "Politics Backstage."

Family

Klein is twice divorced, and has shared custody of his two younger children. He cites his son's diabetes as a primary source of his involvement in stem cell research.

Klein's grandfather, Saul Klein, was a prominent Los Angeles lawyer and close associate of Clarence Darrow and Upton Sinclair. Klein's father was an administrator of cities including San Jose, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Menlo Park.

See also

• Proposition 71
• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Sources

San Francisco Chronicle, "STEM CELLS: The $3 Billion Bet: One man's scientific mission: Housing developer leads California's research effort." Carl T. Hall, Monday, April 11, 2005