Former World Bank president James Wolfensohn dies aged 86

James Wolfensohn, one of the most prominent Australian business figures of his generation, has died, aged 86.

Former World Bank President, James Wolfensohn. Picture: Sam Mooy.

Financier, musician, Olympian, philanthropist, James “Jim” Wolfensohn excelled at anything he set his mind to and as news broke of his death in New York, he was remembered as perhaps the greatest “Renaissance Man” of his generation. He was 86.

As comfortable with the key figures of the arts world as he was with global business leaders and politicians, the Sydney-born Mr Wolfensohn came from humble beginnings, growing up in a middle class family in Australia before moving to the US.

He started a powerful investment house in New York before being appointed by Democrat president Bill Clinton to run the World Bank in 1995 and then by Republican president George W Bush in 2005 to be special envoy for Gaza.

While studying law at the University of Sydney Mr Wolfensohn joined the fencing team and went on to qualify for the Olympic team and compete at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

Peter Montgomery, a former captain of Australia’s water polo team, four-time Olympian and former AOC vice-president, said Mr Wolfensohn was an amazing man and a proud Olympian.

He said that as head of the World Bank Mr Wolfensohn had met with former International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch and developed a joint initiative that saw Olympians travel to refugee camps to show how sport can positively affect the lives of the displaced.

“It was something he was very proud of and carried with him all his life,” Montgomery said of Mr Wolfensohn’s Olympic past. “He was the business confidante of many world leaders and some of the great businessmen in history. “

IOC Vice President John Coates said Mr Wolfensohn exemplified the ethos of the Olympics.

“In an extraordinary life, marked by high achievement in everything he turned his mind to, Jim stood out,” he said. “He really lived the Olympic values, when you think about what he achieved with the World Bank and his work in reforming that institution.”

Alongside his business career, Mr Wolfensohn was a committed philanthropist. He raised $60 million to rebuild New York’s iconic Carnegie Hall and in 2006 he founded the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Washington think-tank, the Brookings Institution, which focused on anti-poverty programs and global economic governance.

In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for a lifetime of philanthropic work.

World Bank president David Malpass described Mr Wolfensohn as a dear friend and mentor to many at the organisation.

“We will miss him greatly,” he said.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was sad to hear of Mr Wolfensohn’s passing.

“A great international civil servant who was President of the World Bank & a committed philanthropist,” he said.

Mr Wolfensohn was also a classical music aficionado and as an adult learned cello from Jacqueline Du Pre.

He is said to have practised daily and performed alongside top cellist YoYo Ma at Carnegie Hall to mark his 70th birthday.

In an interview with The Australian in 2017 he said the rise of Donald Trump as US president and the economic rise of China and India had combined to transform America’s place on the global stage.

“The position that the United States has held since the end of World War II is now significantly challenged not only by its (presidential) leadership but by the fact of economics and (the) increasing power that different parts of the world have,” he said.