Financier Helped Reshape Republican Politics

Mr. Friess became one of the most sought-after GOP mega donors and a supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential run. He channeled his money to push for conservative fiscal policies, donating more than $500 million to charitable and political causes over his lifetime, according to Foster’s Outriders, his civic nonprofit foundation.

He died on May 27 at age 81. The cause was myelodysplastic syndrome, a disorder of the blood cells and bone marrow, a family spokesman said.

He was one of the most visible faces of an era where wealthy individuals and businesses started to exert more influence over American politics. The influence was fueled by looser campaign-finance rules and the rise of Super PACs, or political action committees that can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations and other groups.

“When I was criticized for rich people stealing democracy from the little guys through the Super PAC, other people wrote me notes of gratitude that I increased democracy because I allowed the person to run who would have had a less chance to run,” Mr. Friess said in 2013.

Foster Stephen Friess was born on April 2, 1940, and grew up in Rice Lake, Wis. His father was a cattle rancher, and his mother dropped out of school in eighth grade to save the family farm, according to a family statement.

After serving as an Army intelligence officer, he launched Friess Associates in 1974 and made his name picking technology and growth stocks. Best known for its Brandywine funds, the firm managed about $15 billion at its peak in the late 1990s.

A born-again Christian who enjoyed wearing cowboy hats, he would conduct business meetings while standing so they didn’t drag out longer than necessary.

Mr. Friess limited the number of companies his firm invested in to focus on the best concepts. He called the approach “pigs at the trough,’’ based on the idea that hungrier pigs would displace the sated ones. In late 1997 and early 1998, Mr. Friess moved two-thirds of a flagship fund’s assets to cash, a costly move during a stock rally. However, his fund weathered the dot-com bust better than its peers.

In 2001, Mr. Friess struck a deal to sell a majority stake in the firm for about $250 million, amassing a fortune. He joined other wealthy donors in the race to reshape the Republican party.

He helped bankroll the Daily Caller when the conservative website launched in 2010. He urged the party to find fresh faces that could broaden its base. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2012, he took aim at Mitt Romney. A conservative, a liberal and a moderate walk into a bar, Mr. Friess told the audience. His punchline: The bartender says, “Hi, Mitt.”

“Why don’t we learn? We cannot continue to support these experienced, wonderful warhorses, these veterans,” he said, adding the political strategy was doomed to fail.

In Mr. Santorum, he backed a candidate whose opposition to abortion and gay marriage resonated among many social conservatives. Mr. Santorum eventually dropped out of the race. But the campaign completed Mr. Friess’s transformation from investor to GOP benefactor.

Mr. Friess was unabashed about the wealth he built and argued that the government shouldn’t penalize wealth. He said in 2013, “If you tax me 10% more, am I going to sell my jet plane? No. Am I going to sell any of my beach houses? No. Am I going to change my lifestyle? No. What does it do to me?

“It’s just money that I no longer can give to these various causes I’ve been giving to.”

He was a backer of Mr. Trump’s bid for the White House, and publicly supported the presidential contender’s policy priorities and rhetorical tactics. “He has the ability to excite people and generate news,” Mr. Friess said in a 2016 interview with CNBC. “It’s a new dynamic that I think we all ought to be excited about in terms of his ability to articulate these ideas more emotionally.”

In 2018, Mr. Friess made a bid to be Wyoming’s governor, scoring a last-minute endorsement from Mr. Trump, but ultimately lost.

Mark Gordon,

who won the governor seat, said in May that the late Mr. Friess was a “strong and steady voice for Republican and Christian values.” Over his life, Mr. Friess also donated money to causes such as assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina and helping families of disabled children in Wyoming.

He died in Scottsdale, Ariz. His survivors include his wife, Lynnette, four children and 15 grandchildren.

Write to Dawn Lim at dawn.lim@wsj.com