Bob Reynolds and his wife, Laura, hosted a GOP fundraiser at their Nantucket home where tickets cost $100,000 or more.
Bob and Laura Reynolds at a gala hosted by the American Ireland Fund, in 2013 in Boston. Bill Brett/Boston Globe
Vice President JD Vance flew to Nantucket Tuesday, where he was greeted by protesters as he headlined a Republican National Committee fundraiser on the island.
The fundraiser was a big success, with the GOP reportedly raking in around $3 million as the party gears up for the 2026 midterms. Couples that wanted to attend had to pony up $100,000, and those that sought a place on the “host committee” paid $250,000, the New York Post reported.
At the center of the festivities was former Putnam Investment Management LLC CEO Bob Reynolds and his wife, Laura. The couple hosted the fundraiser at their home on the island, according to the Nantucket Current.
So, who is Bob Reynolds? The broad strokes of his biography can be gleaned from a glowing profile that appeared in West Virginia University’s Business Magazine in 2022. Reynolds is a West Virginia native who, along with his wife, funded the construction of WVU’s new 186,000-square-foot business complex aptly named Reynolds Hall.
Reynolds grew up in Clarksburg, West Virginia, where his father, Bill, served as mayor and city councilman. Bill Reynolds was a military veteran, and his son initially wanted to attend West Point. But as he waited for admittance there, he began attending WVU and studying finance.
Reynolds eventually ended up at Boston-based Fidelity Investments, where he spent more than two decades. He made his name there spearheading Fidelity’s 401(k) business as it grew into a lucrative juggernaut. In 2008, he moved to Putnam.
Putnam was sold to Franklin Resources last year, and Reynolds opted to stay at Great-West Lifeco, a leader in retirement savings products where Reynolds had already been serving as chair.
Spokespeople at Great-West did not respond to inquiries about contacting Reynolds.
Reynolds and his wife, who also have lived in Concord, have donated tens of thousands of dollars to political causes over the years, according to Federal Election Commission records compiled by OpenSecrets. Many of these donations appear to be in support of Republicans.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, Reynolds actively lobbied Republican lawmakers and White House officials to not meddle with the 401(k) industry. Ahead of the 2022 midterms, he and Laura hosted a fundraiser at their Nantucket home that featured Vance and a number of other high-profile GOP names.
In the lead up to the 2024 election, Reynolds co-chaired a fundraiser for presidential hopeful Nikki Haley. But in the final stretch of that election season, after Trump had consolidated support and forced Haley to drop out of the race, Reynolds told Nantucket Magazine that a second Trump administration would be more beneficial to the market than a Kamala Harris presidency.
Locally, Reynolds made a splash in recent years when he made major donations to support opponents of the so-called “millionaires tax.”
Reynolds has also been active in the world of sports. He officiated high school and college football and basketball games for nearly 20 years and counts himself as a major fan of both WVU athletics and Massachusetts sports teams like the Patriots and Celtics.
In 2006, Reynolds found himself on the short list of candidates to become the next NFL commissioner and told The Wall Street Journal that he would consider the position if it was offered to him. Patriots owner Robert Kraft told The Boston Business Journal in 2015 that Reynolds impressed the search committee and would likely have been offered the job if Roger Goodell was not in the picture.
Reynolds was heavily involved in the failed push to bring the 2024 Olympic Games to Boston, donating at least $100,000 to support the bid.
He authored a book that was released in 2017. “From Here to Security: How Workplace Savings Can Keep America’s Promise” is marketed as a “balanced, non-ideological guide” to improving America’s retirement systems.
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