Waite Phillips and his identical twin brother, Wiate, were born on January 19, 1883. Their father, Lewis “Lew” Franklin Phillips, and mother, Lucinda Josephine “Josie” Faucett Phillips, raised the boys on an 80-acre farm in rural southwest Iowa. The twins shared a home with eight other siblings: brothers Frank, Lee Eldas (L.E.), Ed, and Fred, and sisters Etta, Mary Jane, Nelli, and Lura.

Waite and Wiate were known to be adventurous. In 1899, when they were just 16 years old, they set out on what would become a three-year journey across the West. They wandered from one state to the next, taking jobs wherever they could find them – ranging from bus boys and hotel attendants to railroaders and fur trappers. Sadly, this great adventure came to an unexpected end in July 1902 when Wiate died following complications arising from acute appendicitis in Spokane, Washington. However, this grand Western adventure would continue to serve as inspiration to Waite throughout his life.

To help Waite manage his loss, his two older brothers Frank and L. E. Phillips helped pay for him to attend Western Normal College in Shenandoah, Iowa. After graduating in July 1903 with a degree in accounting, Waite went on to work for the Hawkeye Coal Company in Knoxville, Iowa – where he would also meet Genevieve Elliott. The daughter of a prominent local banker, Genevieve and Waite would marry on March 30, 1909. The couple would later raise two children together: daughter Helen Jane (born 1911) and son Elliott “Chope” (born 1918).

After working at the coal company, Waite joined Frank and L.E., future founders of Phillips Petroleum, in their new Oklahoma oil business in 1906. Although Waite was never officially affiliated with Phillips 66, it was during his time working with his brothers that he would gain the skills and experience needed to set out on his own in 1914. Following years of work and varying success, Waite eventually founded the Waite Phillips Company in 1922 and ran it successfully for over three years.

The company was the culmination of Waite’s career in oil and consisted of properties in Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and Colorado. At its peak, Waite’s operation was producing approximately 40,000 barrels of oil a day. It was also one of the first vertically integrated oil companies in American history – managing every aspect of oil production and sales from ground to gas station pump. Waite’s work attracted the attention of many investors, including New York bankers Blair and Company, who he sold his business to in 1925 for $25 million.

It was the money earned from Waite’s success in oil that allowed the Phillips family to begin the purchase of their Philmont Ranch in 1922. By 1932 they had accumulated 300,000 acres in Cimarron, New Mexico and had begun construction on both the Villa Philmonté and the Villa Philbrook in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, the family would never keep all their wealth to themselves.

Waite once famously said, “the only things we keep permanently are those we give away.” True to his words, the family prioritized philanthropy throughout their lives. Beginning in 1925, and every year thereafter, Waite and Genevieve gave away half of everything that they earned – sponsoring causes ranging from children’s homes and Great Depression community funds to universities and art museums.

However, perhaps their most famous example of generosity was their gift of land outside Cimarron, New Mexico to Scouting America. Originally totaling 36,000 acres in 1938, by the summer of 1939 the property was up and running as the Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp. Mr. Phillips liked the program that was developing at Philturn so much that in 1941 he and Genevive made a second gift of land totaling over 91,000 acres of land south of Cimarron. Ownership and rental income from Waite’s Tulsa office building, Philtower, was included to help supplement the cost of ranch operations. The family’s vacation home, Villa Philmonté, was also included and Waite suggested that the Scouts might consider using it as an adult training center.

Today, well over one million Scouts have benefited from the life changing Backcountry and Training Center programs offered at Philmont Scout Ranch thanks to the generosity of the Phillips family.