WordPerfect co-founder Bruce Bastian is no longer alive. He passed away on June 16, 2024, at the age of 76, at his residence in Palm Springs, California.
Born on March 23, 1948, in Idaho, Bruce had a larger-than-life career. In 1979, he founded WordPerfect Corp. along with his professor Alan Ashton and soon turned it into one of the top four software companies in the world, eventually serving his bank account abundantly.
Deseret News reported that Bruce Bastian was already a millionaire with an estimated net worth of $840 million in the early 1990s. The amount he amassed at the time served him life-long, though he departed from the company permanently after a while.
Bruce Bastian, the co-founder of WordPerfect and a pillar in Utah's LGBTQ+ community, dies at age 76 https://t.co/ejzzywT34y
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) June 17, 2024
From the fortune he amassed from WordPerfect, he bought a $3.5 million mansion in Orem and also owned homes in Salt Lake City and London.
Likewise, he invested in several other business ventures, which we believe must have made him a billionaire until his demise in 2024.
Millions of amount that Bruce Bastian earned was spent for philanthropic purposes
After Bruce Bastian achieved major commercial success in computer programming, he contributed to society’s well-being.
As a philanthropist, his inclination seemed more towards the art sector and the LGBT community. In 1997, he founded a non-profit organization, B.W. Bastian Foundation, in Orem, UT.
Over the years, the B.W. Bastian Foundation has contributed greatly to the educational sector and several other unseen issues. According to IRS records, it made a $683,550 donation solely in 2001 to ‘about 50 Utah organizations, including schools, aging services, and child advocacy groups.‘
7pm, ELEVATE: Bruce Bastian, Hosted by Encircle: LGBT+ Family & Youth Resource Center, 91 W 200 S, Provo, Utah #LGBTQ #LGBTI #utah pic.twitter.com/1SaDU6gH7d
— Kat Martinez (@KatMartinezOR) April 3, 2017
Likewise, Bruce was a heavy donor to Equality Utah, a non-profit organization that worked for LGBT rights.
Further, he was also one of the strong benefactors of The University of Utah. In 2000, he gifted $1.3 million to the music department for 55 Steinway pianos and $2 million for the renovation of Kingsbury Hall.
Moreover, as the Salt Lake Tribune reported, Bruce was also a political donor who donated $55,000 to the Better Boundaries ballot and $19,000 to gay-rights PACs. Similarly, he granted $1 million ‘to fight Proposition 8 in California, which sought to block gay marriage there.’
After donating millions of dollars, it might seem like Bruce Bastian emptied his bank account, but that’s not the case. According to reports, Bruce Bastian had a net worth of $1.4 billion.
Additional Information
- Being a gay entrepreneur, Bruce Bastian supported the LGBTQ community his whole life.
- Before coming out as gay, Bruce was married to his wife Melanie Laycock-Bastian for 17 years, from 1976 to 1993. Melanie passed away in 2016 after she lost her battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
- With his ex-wife, Bruce had four sons named Rick, Darren, Jeff, and Robert. In his later life, Bruce Bastian tied the knot with his husband, Clint Ford.
