Remembering Bill Freeman: "He touched so many lives"
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Bill Freeman and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Photo: courtesy of Chip Forrester.
Bill Freeman is being remembered as an accomplished businessman and powerhouse Democratic donor following news of his death on Sunday.
- The Nashville Scene, which Freeman owned, reported he died by suicide. Freeman, who had battled health issues following multiple strokes, was 73.
The big picture: Freeman co-founded his real estate management company Freeman Webb with partner Jimmy Webb in 1979. The two became friends after meeting at the junior chamber of commerce.
- The company specializes in managing apartment buildings and commercial properties. The firm initially operated one apartment complex with about 50 units.
- Freeman Webb has over 450 associates and manages 18,000 apartment units and 5 million square feet of properties, according to its website.
Friends say Freeman was a humble philanthropist who didn't publicize his gifts to numerous nonprofit groups. The Tennessee State University Foundation, the Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Court Assistance Foundation and the Cumberland Heights foundation are just a few of the causes he backed.
His influence in the world of politics was immense. Freeman was Tennessee's most consequential fundraiser for Democratic candidates and causes. He supported local, state and federal candidates.
- He was a fundraising bundler to President Biden and former President Obama, who appointed Freeman to the Kennedy Center advisory committee on the arts.
- Freeman also served on Obama's Organizing for Action advisory board.
What they're saying: Chip Forrester, the former chairperson of the Tennessee Democratic Party, estimates Freeman's donations dating back to the 1970s reach well into the tens of millions of dollars.
- "I don't think people realize how committed Bill was to the nonprofit side of the community, because he rarely talked about it," Forrester tells Axios. "He was particularly committed to causes and nonprofit institutions that benefited the Black community."
- "He was clearly the titan of Tennessee Democratic fundraising," Forrester adds. "He put Nashville on the fundraising map. No Democratic Senate incumbent could skip a fundraising trip to Nashville."
After spending much of his career financially supporting other politicians, Freeman became one himself, running for Nashville mayor in 2015.
- He finished third in a competitive general election behind David Fox and eventual winner Megan Barry.
An avid pilot with a fiery personality, Freeman served on the city's airport and convention center boards.
- "Fiery — boy, that doesn't even begin to do it justice. He was passionate," longtime friend Bobby Joslin, who served on the airport board with Freeman, tells Axios. "He was rough around the edges, but at the same time he was the ultimate gentleman. He was warm and he would shake your hand and make you feel welcome."
- "People in this town, he touched so many lives," Joslin said. "People are going to start realizing Bill Freeman is gone here. It's going to be an immediate impact on people, and it's going to leave a void."
Freeman's son Bob Freeman followed him into the family business and into Democratic politics. Bob Freeman serves as president of Freeman Webb and is a Democratic state representative.
- Freeman is survived by his wife, Babs Freeman, three adult sons and six grandchildren.