Did you know that Dick Corbett, the same guy who built International Plaza, was also a part owner of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and RFK’s right hand man? With a net worth of just under $1 billion, he’s also one of the country’s most generous benefactors – donating millions locally to USF and the Tampa Museum of Art.
Check out his fascinating story below.
Who is Dick Corbett?
Richard (Dick) Corbett grew up in Rochester, NY. He attended Aquinas Institute High School in Rochester, graduating with the Class of 1956. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 37 in Rochester and became an Eagle Scout in 1954.
Earning his bachelor’s degree in history from Notre Dame University (1960), he also served as senior class president. After graduation from Notre Dame, he worked in the John F. Kennedy administration in the Executive Office Building at the White House.
He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964 and worked for the Kennedy family in New York City to help manage their investment portfolio. Dick also served as business manager of Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign and was next to him when he was assassinated on June 5, 1968.
The family wanted Dick to stay with the body during the autopsy, and Robert Kennedy was buried in Dick’s clothes due to the terrible condition of RFK’s original clothing after the incident.
From International Plaza to Florida Conservation
Dick Corbett began his career as a real estate investor, developing and owning several brownstones in New York City. He later relocated to Tampa and was a partial owner of the NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies Soccer Team.
In 2001, his most ambitious and acclaimed achievement was International Plaza, a mixed-use retail, office, and hotel development located at the Tampa International Airport, which attracts over 18 million visitors a year.
International Plaza has generated thousands of permanent jobs, hundreds of new commercial sales entities, office space, adjunct hotels and restaurants, and produces hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the regional economy, yielding substantial tax revenues that benefit the community. It was sold in 2012, and he received over $400 million as proceeds of the sale.
Dick has played a vital role in developing and preserving large agricultural systems in Florida. He co-owns Pinckney Hill Plantation, a 17,500-acre farm and natural wildlife preserve in Jefferson County, Florida.
From 2003 to 2016, he served as one of seven commissioners appointed by the Governor to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), culminating his tenure as Chairman. Later in 2017, he became Chair of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. Dick is also involved with the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network, a program he helped launch and that the FWC jointly sponsors. There are four centers in Florida, with the most recent center in Palm Beach dedicated as the Corbett Everglades Youth Center.
Dick is an avid supporter of Ducks Unlimited and has served as a trustee on the Board of Wetlands America Trust, whose goal is to provide specialized financial and philanthropic support to Ducks Unlimited.
Supporting Education in Tampa and Beyond
Dick’s role in promoting the value and quality of K-12 education is reflected in one of Florida’s most respected elementary schools, the Corbett Preparatory School in Tampa, formerly the Independent Day School. Dick, his wife Cornelia, and their family were intimately involved in the design and financing of this award-winning school.
He and Cornelia have played the pivotal leadership role in the fundraising for the downtown riverfront Tampa Museum of Art. Dick pledged $28 million as the lead donation for the Museum’s Centennial Capital Campaign for Renovation and Expansion.
Dick has generously given to his schools. He gifted the Aquinas Institute of Rochester to establish “The Richard A. Corbett ’56 Boxing Program” for $1 million.
In 2014, at his 50th reunion, he pledged $5 million to Harvard Business School.
In 2015, Dick provided Notre Dame University a foundational gift of $25 million to construct Corbett Hall, the 280,000-square-foot building on the east side of Notre Dame Stadium. This building was named after Dick’s father, Donald J. Corbett Senior, who played quarterback under legendary football coach Knute Rockne. Dick also established a $10 million endowment for the head football coaching position at the University.
Involvement in the Tampa Community
Dick has also given generously of his time, talent and resources to a number of organizations.
He has served as a trustee on the following Board of Directors:
- Tampa General Hospital
- Tampa General Hospital Foundation Board
- The Florida Council of 100
- Tampa Museum of Science and Industry
- USF Business School
- Hillsborough Education Foundation
- The Florida Council of Economic Education
- Boy Scouts of America
- Two Tampa Super Bowl Host Committees
And he was a National Finance Committee member of the Romney Victory Campaign.
In 2013, Dick and Cornelia were inducted into the Florida Council of Economic Education Hall of Fame. They also serve as officers of the Corbett Family Foundation.
Dick and Cornelia have homes in Florida and Colorado. They have four grown children, three daughters and a son. They have five grandchildren. Dick’s hobbies are golf, hunting, fly fishing, skiing, singing, and traveling the world.
As of 2026, the Corbett family’s net worth is estimated at just under $1 billion.