Billionaire philanthropist C.D. Spangler Jr., who led North Carolina’s university system for more than a decade, has died. He was 86.
The University of North Carolina System announced that Spangler died Sunday.
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Spangler became president of the system in 1986 and led it for 11 years. The Charlotte native attended the University of North Carolina and later Harvard Business School.
He was one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. According to Forbes magazine, Spangler was estimated to have a fortune of approximately $4 billion through family companies and his leadership of National Gypsum.
The university system said that Spangler sought to keep tuition low throughout the system and championed its role as an economic driver for the state.
