February 24

...with a side of boots (for a needy Kevin):

Andrew Tobias

Born in 1947, Andrew Tobias is an American journalist, author, and columnist. He has written chiefly on investment, politics and insurance, but, using the pseudonym John Reid, published an autobiography titled The Best Little Boy in the World (1973), an early classic of gay coming-out literature. It has remained in print for over forty years and was reissued under his real name in 1998, when he was comfortable enough to reveal his sexual orientation to the general public. Subsequently, Tobias served as grand marshal of the 2005 New York City LGBT Pride Parade. An influential gay rights activist, he is also a member of the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign.

A staunch Democrat, since 1998 he has served as treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, and he has been a strong opponent of Republican efforts to reduce taxes for high-income individuals.

Among his other accomplishments, Tobias created one of the most popular early financial computer programs, Andrew Tobias’s Managing Your Money, later sold to and subsumed by the makers of Quicken. Although a major voice in the financial industry, he has never been employed in that field. As well, he has written investment advice columns for New York Magazine, Esquire, Playboy and Time. One of his most controversial books proposes radical insurance reform. He has appeared numerous television shows, including Today, Good Morning America, Oprah, Tonight and Face the Nation.

For 7 years Tobias was in a relationship with journalist Scot Haller. Fashion designer Charles Nolan, Tobias’s subsequent partner of 16 years, died of cancer in 2011 at age 53. Nolan mixed politics and fashion, causing shock waves when he left as head designer of Ann Klein in 2003 to volunteer for the presidential campaign of Howard Dean.

http://andrewtobias.com