Jack Stephens, 81; Arkansas Investment Banker, Philanthropist

Jack Stephens, 81, a financier who built one of the largest investment banking firms off Wall Street and donated millions of dollars to charitable causes, died Saturday at home in Little Rock, Ark., said a spokesman for the firm Stephens Inc.

Stephens, along with his brother W.R. “Witt” Stephens, was one of the richest people in Arkansas. He gave generously to charity, including $48 million to a spinal institute in Little Rock.

Stephens grew up on a farm near Prattsville, Ark., during the Depression. He picked cotton before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946. That year, he joined the Little Rock investment house that his brother Witt had started in 1933.

Stephens was chief executive in 1970 when the firm underwrote the initial public offering for Sam Walton’s discount store chain. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is now the world’s largest retailer.

In 1962, Stephens joined the Augusta National Golf Club, which plays host to the annual Masters tournament. He later served as its chairman in the 1990s. Hootie Johnson, who succeeded Stephens, said the club and tournament “have lost a wonderful individual and an outstanding past chairman.”

Stephens gave $48 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to establish the Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute. He also gave $20.4 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for an on-campus special-events center that will include a basketball arena.