David Bonderman

Bonderman was born to a Jewish family, in Los Angeles on November 27, 1942, and was educated there at University High School. Bonderman studied Russian at the University of Washington, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1963, and at Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1966. He was also a member of the Harvard Law Review and a Sheldon Fellow. During his time at Harvard, he traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to study Islamic jurisprudence and law; consequently, he became known in various Islamic legal circles, ultimately developing a near-native fluency in Modern Standard Arabic. Bonderman began providing the funding for the Bonderman Travel Fellowship at the University of Washington in 1995 which gives eight undergraduate and six graduate students per year with the opportunity to travel the world independently, with very little structure or regulations. In 2013, Bonderman's daughter, Samantha Holloway, donated the funding to create a similar fellowship at the University of Michigan. While the fellowships share the same name (the Bonderman Fellowship), they vary in both eligibility and execution.

Bonderman was an assistant professor at Tulane University Law School during 1967 and 1968; he then was a special assistant to the United States Attorney General during 1968 and 1969. In 1971, he joined the law firm of Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C., where he became a partner and specialized in corporate, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust litigation. In 1983, he joined the Robert M. Bass Group, Inc. (RMBG), an investment company of Robert Bass which now does business as Keystone Inc., and became the chief operating officer. Bonderman was a principal at TPG in Fort Worth, Texas, from December 1992, where he was also co-founder and chairman. TPG went public in January 2022, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "TPG".

In 2008, Bonderman was named as one of the investors of what became the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Bonderman was a director of Continental Airlines, Bell & Howell, Ducati, Credicom Asia, the Education Corporation of America, Beringer Vineyards, Carr Realty, Virgin Cinemas, CoStar Group, Gemalto, and Ryanair. He was on the boards of The Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, the World Wide Fund for Nature, The University of Washington Foundation and the American Himalayan Foundation. He previously was on the boards of Washington Mutual, American Savings Bank, Denbury Resources and Burger King. He was a board member of Uber until he resigned from that position in June 2017.

In June 2017, Bonderman resigned from the board of Uber amidst controversy surrounding a sexist response to fellow board member Arianna Huffington during a company all-hands meeting. "There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," said Huffington. Bonderman replied, "actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely to be more talking." The Uber meeting was, among other things, slated to discuss efforts to rein in a toxic and sexist culture at the company.

In 2018, Bonderman filed an application for a National Hockey League (NHL) expansion team to play at a renovated Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. The NHL Board of Governors voted to approve the team, named the Seattle Kraken, on December 4.

Bonderman was married to Laurie Michaels; they had five children, and lived in Fort Worth, Texas. He was reported to be in a relationship with Christa Campbell in February and May 2019 though he stayed married with Michaels.

In 2002, for his 60th birthday, Bonderman had The Rolling Stones and John Mellencamp play at his birthday party at The Theater at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. John Mellencamp played for an hour, The Rolling Stones played for an hour and a half, and comedian Robin Williams entertained guests between acts. The party cost $7 million, making it one of the most expensive private concerts ever held.

In 2012, for his 70th birthday party, Bonderman held a private concert by former The Beatles member Paul McCartney at Wynn Las Vegas for 1,020 guests. Robin Williams also performed a comedy routine. Bonderman donated $1000 to each guest's charity of choice.

Bonderman died in Los Angeles, on December 11, 2024, at the age of 82. In tribute, the Seattle Kraken added a "Bondo" (Bonderman's nickname) patch to its jerseys and a matching sticker to its helmets on December 12.

His daughter Samantha Holloway succeeded him as owner of the Kraken, and she created the umbrella brand called One Roof Sports & Entertainment, alongside with Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke in 2026.