Lee Reuben Anderson Sr. (born June 22, 1939) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the owner and chairman of the Minnesota-based APi Group, a holding company for numerous construction and fire-protection firms. His charitable interests include children's health, higher education, and the welfare of American military veterans.

Biography Anderson, an only child, was born in Minneapolis, Minn., and attended the private Breck School, then in St. Paul. A lifelong outdoorsman, he spent much of his boyhood at the family home in the Brainerd lakes area north of the Twin Cities.Davich, Sheri. "For the Love of Boats: Adirondack style boathouse deeply rooted on Nisswa Lake" , Lake and Home Magazine, October/November 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2012. At the urging of his father, a successful plumbing contractor, he enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point and played football and basketball. After he graduated in 1961 with a B.S. in civil engineering, Anderson served in the U.S. Army at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona, where he oversaw materials procurement and construction services and was promoted to first lieutenant.

In 1964, Anderson returned to the Twin Cities and took over A.P.I. Inc. (originally Asbestos Products International), an insulation contractor founded in 1926 as a division of his father's plumbing business. After he purchased an industrial fire sprinkler company in 1969, Anderson continued to acquire other firms, primarily in the construction and fire-protection fields. The growing conglomerate was renamed APi Group Inc. in 1997. On October 1, 2019, Anderson sold his interest in APi Group, Inc. to J2 Acquisition Limited, a SPAC co-founded by Sir Martin E. Franklin."New Brighton-based APi, owner of construction, life safety firms, sold for $2.9B"

Bank acquisitions In the late 1970s, Anderson also began to purchase small banks in central and northern Minnesota. In 1997, he sold his banking assets to Norwest Corporation for a reported $75 million in stock.Beal, Dave. "APi's Low-Profile Empire", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4 August 1999. Norwest's subsequent merger with Wells Fargo, in 1998, greatly enhanced the value of the shares Anderson had acquired in the original trade.

Philanthropy In recent years, Anderson had committed a sizeable amount of his fortune to various charitable causes. In 2005, he and his wife, Penny, gave $60 million to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul - the largest individual donation ever received by a Minnesota college or university at that time.Switzky, Bryant R.; Wyant, Carissa. "St. Thomas receives $60M gift", Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, 24 October 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2012. The Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex opened on the St. Thomas campus in 2011. In 2023, the couple pledged $75 million for the construction of a multi-use arena on the St. Thomas campus. It is the largest single monetary donation ever made to a Minnesota university. The Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, opened in 2025, is home to the university's men's and women's basketball and hockey teams. In 2003, the Andersons pledged $6 million for the building of the Anderson Rugby Complex at West Point, which was dedicated in May 2007. As frequent contributors to West Point, he and his wife are recognized as the largest donors in the academy's history, in terms of financial support."Donor Profile" , Army Rugby West Point website, Retrieved 10 March 2012. Since 2002, the Andersons have given $6 million to Children's Hospital Boston for research on a rare form of muscular dystrophy, mini-core myopathy, that afflicts one of their grandchildren."Spirit of Giving" , Children's Hospital Boston, Fall 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2012.

Military veterans In 2011, the Andersons donated $2.5 million toward the building of the new Defenders Lodge, a $12.5 million hotel facility for veterans seeking care at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, California."PenFed Foundation Receives $2.5 Million in Defenders Lodge Initiative", Philanthropy News Digest, 20 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012. Anderson also pledged to fund the first three years of Hiring Our Heroes, a program launched in 2011 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with support from veteran service organizations, to stage job fairs across the country. The initiative also recognizes firms that have made extraordinary efforts to help wounded service members and other veterans reenter the civilian workforce."Hiring Our Heroes", U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, Retrieved March 13, 2012.

Private life Lee and Penny Anderson, who married in 1965, maintain homes in Minnesota and in Naples, Florida. They have a son, a daughter, and six grandchildren. Anderson, an avid hunter, is the funder of a conservation education program through the Boone and Crockett Club in the Montana Rockies."Lee and Penny Anderson Conservation Education Program", The Boone and Crockett Club, Retrieved 10 March 2012. The Andersons have also supported the St. David's Relief Foundation, a Texas-based Catholic nonprofit group that has assisted humanitarian efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina following the Yugoslav Wars (1991–1995). After first visiting nearby Croatia in 2001, the couple subsequently opened a Relais & Chateaux Villa & Winery, Villa Korta Katarina & Winery in Orebić, a seaside village on the Adriatic coast.Ward, Bill. "Zivejele (Welcome) to Croatian Varietals", Star Tribune, 14 April 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2012.

He won Best of Show at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and then again in 2025.

Memberships and awards Anderson serves as director and trustee for numerous companies, organizations, outdoor groups, and academic institutions, including Breck School, the University of St. Thomas, and the Naples Children and Education Foundation. He is a director of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.; Pan-O-Gold Baking Company; and a member of the Minnesota Executive Organization, the Chief Executives Organization, and the World Presidents Organization. His recent awards include: London Medal for Distinguished Service, Comfort for America's Uniformed Services (Cause), 2018 "Cause Announces Winners Of The London Medal For Distinguished Service: Lee And Penny Anderson ", cause-usa.org, 18 Oct 2018. Inducted into Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, 2014"Minnesota Executive and Renowned Philanthropist Lee R. Anderson Sr. Selected for Prestigious Horatio Alger Award – Class of 2014 " , horatioalger.org, 18 Nov 2013. Received the Distinguished Service Award from the Military Officers Association of America, 2014"Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) announces 2014 award recipients : MOAA" , moaa.org, 24 Mar 2014. Eisenhower Distinguished Citizen Award, 2013"CELEBRATE A LEGACY OF DEVOTION AT OUR 18TH ANNUAL GALA" , armydistaff.org, 19 September 2013. Distinguished Graduate Award, West Point, 2013"Minnesotan Receives Highest West Point Honor", kstp.com, 21 May 2013. Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Lifetime Achievement Award, 2013"Labovitz Award recipients announced" , duluthnewstribune.com, 27 April 2013. Donor of the Year Award, National Association of Athletic Directors, 2011"NAADD Announces 2011 Award Winners", www.nacda.com, 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2012. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, National Catholic Educational Association, 2010"Videos of the 2010 Seton Award Recipients", National Catholic Educational Association, Retrieved 20 March 2012. Minnesota's Outstanding Individual Philanthropist Award, American Fundraising Professionals, 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in real estate, hospitality, and construction, 2009"APi Group, Inc.'s Lee R. Anderson named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Winner in the Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction category" , Ernst & Young, 15 November 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2012. Minnesota Business Hall of Fame inductee, 2008 Honorary Doctorate of Law, University of St. Thomas, 2005 John F. Cade Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, John M. Morrison Center for Entrepreneurship, University of St. Thomas, 2002 L.B. Hartz Professional Achievement Award, Minnesota State University Moorhead College of Business and Industry, 2002

Reuben Anderson Reuben Anderson, Lee Anderson's father, was the plumbing contractor for the White House renovation project in 1951. As noted by the historian David McCullough, President Harry S. Truman admired a poem by the elder Anderson, posted on the wall of the head engineer's temporary headquarters on the South Lawn.McCullough, David (2003). Truman, p.1024. Simon and Schuster, New York. .

References

Further reading Lorenz, Sarah. "APi Group, Inc. Company Portrait from International Directory of Company Histories", Encyclopedia.com, 2005.

External links APi Group, Inc. Lee R. Anderson, Sr. Bio Korta Katarina St. David's Relief Foundation

VIDEO: Defenders Lodge Video Tour