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The Global Wild Cat
Conservation Organization
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Thomas S. Kaplan, Ph.D.
Founder & Chairman of the Board
Follow Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan on his social media channels.
Born in New York City, Dr. Kaplan was raised in Florida where he formed a strong passion for wildlife conservation. The iconic Florida panther inspired his dream to one day become a wildlife biologist. Though by his own admission his scholarly pursuits better suited him for the study of history - which he studied at Oxford -- he always dreamed of one day working to conserve the world's great felids. Those dreams informed and inspired Panthera.

Alongside his wife, Daphne Recanati Kaplan, they founded Panthera in 2006 to meet the global challenges of protecting the world's wild cats and their habitats. They subsequently endowed the Recanati-Kaplan Center at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, or WildCRU, creating the leading university-based felid conservation program. The Kaplans also founded The Orianne Society, named after their daughter, to preserve eastern Indigo snakes and their habitat, the long-leaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States.

Dr. Kaplan is active in community and family philanthropy. He is the former President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y, a world-renowned, New York-based Jewish community and cultural center, and serves on the Advisory Board of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital Department of Internal Medicine. The Kaplans have also funded the Lillian Jean Kaplan Renal Transplantation Center at the University of Miami as well as a variety of prizes and grants for medical science research.

In March 2014, Dr. Kaplan was awarded the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur of France – the country’s highest civilian distinction – by the French Ambassador to the United States, François Delattre. In March 2017, Dr. Kaplan was decorated as a Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France’s Minister of Culture, Audrey Azoulay, in recognition of the Kaplan family’s contribution to the arts in France as well as globally.

Thomas Kaplan holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in history from Oxford University. He presently serves as Chairman of the Electrum group of companies.

Read Dr. Kaplan’s statement on Panthera’s efforts to create a big tent for conservation voices.
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"Our single-minded pursuit remains nothing less than to identify all the key hurdles facing wild cat conservation globally and, in tandem with our partners, to channel efficiently and quickly the financial and intellectual capital required to meet those challenges comprehensively."
- Thomas Kaplan, Founder and Chairman, Panthera
Dr. Kaplan discusses Panthera and the future of jaguars with Bob Simon and Panthera's Chief Scientist, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, during a CBS 60 Minutes interview
Tom Kaplan Talks Lion Conservation with CNN's Richard Quest
Ahead of the release of The Lion King remake, Panthera Chairman and Co-Founder Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan chatted all things lion with Richard Quest on CNN International’s ‘Quest Means Business’ program. Watch the interview to learn about the largely unknown conservation crisis facing Africa’s lions, Panthera’s partnership with Disney through the #ProtectThePride campaign, and some of our critical protective work and wins in Zambia and Namibia to protect the King of Beasts.

 

Watch the interview here.

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"Panthera is the gold standard in big cat conservation. It has the proven capacity and expertise to implement this all-important global effort to save the most charismatic members of the animal kingdom."
Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak
Managing Director, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund & Secretary-General, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi
Popular Articles Featuring Dr. Kaplan
External
Popular Article
2020-05-23 21:00:00
Warren Buffett bought 3,500 tons of silver in 1997. The purchase helped make Thomas Kaplan a billionaire.
Source: Markets Insider
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Popular Article
2019-12-10 00:00:00
The Kaplan Doctrine: Conservation, Preservation, and Value
Source: Real Vision
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External
2019-10-21 21:00:00
20 Minutes With: Billionaire Investor, Conservationist Thomas Kaplan
Source: Penta
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Popular Article
2019-09-10 21:00:00
A lifeline for the last leopards (commentary)
Source: Mongaybay
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Popular Article
2019-07-16 00:00:00
Tom Kaplan Discusses The Lion King and Conservation with Richard Quest
Source: CNN Broadcast Video - Quest Means Business
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Video
2019-05-30 00:00:00
Saving the Big Cats Is the 'First Real Love' of Investor Thomas Kaplan
Source: Bloomberg
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Popular Article
2019-02-16 21:00:00
Billionaire art collector Thomas Kaplan on working with Sheikh Mohamed and why he loves the UAE
Source: The National
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Popular Article
2018-11-12 11:53:14
Official Launch of the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA)
Source: MarketWatch
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Popular Article
2018-10-31 17:12:22
Day of the Jaguar: Panthera’s efforts to ensure these magnificent predators survive
Source: Baku Magazine
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Popular Article
2018-05-30 10:22:20
Tangled Up in Indigo
Source: Garden & Gun
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Popular Article
2017-11-29 21:00:00
Man with the most Rembrandts is wooing China to save big cats
Source: South China Morning Post
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Popular Article
2017-11-06 02:00:00
Chinese Philanthropist Joins Forces with International Wild Cat Conservation Organization
Source: Global Times
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Popular Article
2017-08-23 21:00:00
Panthera Announces Creation Of New Conservation Council To Support Its Leadership Role In Preserving Big Cats
Source: Business Insider
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Popular Article
2017-08-23 21:00:00
Panthera Announces Creation Of New Conservation Council To Support Its Leadership Role In Preserving Big Cats
Source: Talkin Pets
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Popular Article
2017-01-26 17:11:00
Hermes presents Fierce and Fragile: Big Cats in the Art of Robert Dallet
Source: Platform
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Popular Article
2017-01-19 12:15:46
Scarves for a Cause from Hermès
Source: Forbes India
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Popular Article
2017-01-11 02:00:00
This Chinese Philanthropist Pledged $1,500,000,000 to Wildlife Conservation
Source: Global Citizen
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Popular Article
2016-12-05 15:54:29
The King of Cats
Source: Worth Magazine
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Popular Article
2016-10-27 14:43:30
A Conservation Conversation: How Philanthropy Can Save Tigers and Fight Crime
Source: Worth Group
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Popular Article
2016-09-22 21:00:00
Lion preservation summit: Transforming the 'Cecil moment' into the 'Cecil movement'
Source: Oxford Today
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Video
2016-09-07 15:18:24
Cecil Summit Public Outreach Panel
Source: WildCRU
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Popular Article
2016-08-31 21:11:00
Tom Kaplan's Dream: Life on the Wild Side with Eclectic Businessman and Philanthropist
Source: Lifestyles Magazine
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2015-11-24 19:34:51
Kaplan and the Cats: A Case of Passionate Philanthropy
Source: Inside Philanthropy
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Popular Article
2015-09-20 10:53:03
Can Big Name Philanthropists Save The Big Cats?
Source: Forbes
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Popular Article
2015-08-04 16:15:22
Billionaire Who Funds Cecil The Lion's Researchers Speaks Out, Offers Matching Grant
Source: Forbes
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Popular Article
2015-08-03 16:46:03
Meet Tom Kaplan
Source: Sanctuary Asia
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Popular Article
2015-07-16 11:25:54
Thomas Kaplan, Founder and Chairman, Panthera
Source: Financial Times
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Popular Article
2015-01-09 15:28:26
Hear Me Roar
Source: Baku Magazine
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Popular Article
2014-11-03 13:28:44
Scion Moves Into Spotlight on M&A Stage
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Popular Article
2013-10-28 16:46:20
Tom Kaplan: Billionaire King Of Cats
Source: Forbes
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Popular Article
2011-12-23 20:37:10
A Cry for the Tiger
Source: National Geographic
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Popular Article
2011-09-20 17:57:38
The Jaguar Freeway
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
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Popular Article
2011-01-27 11:32:08
In Search of the Jaguar: Up Close and Rare
Source: CBS 60 Minutes
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Panthera in the News
2009-08-01 17:38:30
Tom Kaplan: 'I have big plans for big cats'
Source: The Telegraph
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Popular Article
2008-02-23 13:33:07
2008 International Conference on Range wide Conservation Planning for Snow Leopards: Saving the Species Across its Range
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2007-12-31 22:00:00
Can They Stay Out of Harm’s Way?
Source: The New York Times
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Popular Article
2007-02-01 18:09:36
A Battle Royal
Source: Africa Geographic
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Panthera in the News
2006-09-01 17:50:10
From Making a Killing to Saving a Species
Source: Science Magazine
Press Releases Featuring Dr. Kaplan
Blog
Press Release
2018-10-06 21:59:27
A Statement from Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan, Chairman of Panthera
Download
Press Release
2015-07-14 13:53:17
Panthera’s Chairman Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan Sells Last of Its Kind Spitfire Plane to Benefit Panthera
Download
Press Release
2014-05-02 20:43:51
Panthera Congratulates Founder & Chairman Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan For Receiving Highest French Honour
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Press Release
2012-06-26 14:46:51
Panthera Congratulates Dr. Thomas Kaplan on Receiving the 2012 International Film Festival’s Hero of the Year Award
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Press Release
2012-05-11 14:40:58
Panthera's Chairman, Dr. Thomas Kaplan, Awarded 2012 International Wildlife Film Festival's Hero Of The Year For Unparalelled Commitment To Wild Cat Conservation
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Press Release
2010-06-21 13:46:49
Kaplan Graduate Awards Program Grants More Than $1 Million to become the Largest Funder of Students with a Passion for Cat Conservation
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Press Release
2008-05-05 00:00:00
Renowned Big Cat Conservationist Takes Helm Of New Foundation Dedicated To Saving The World’s Wild Cats