Brad Pitt's brother, Doug Pitt, joked that he was the "second most-famous Pitt" and is commonly known as Brad Pitt's younger brother. But the millionaire businessman has also become a successful entrepreneur known for his national and international philanthropy.
Doug was born in 1966 and grew up in the countryside in Springfield, Missouri, with his siblings; just ten minutes out of town, he was surrounded by rivers and the Ozark Mountains. Although his older brother left home to pursue an acting career in Hollywood, Dough and his wife knew they did not want to live anywhere else other than home.
Devout Southern Baptists raised Doug, and in 1991, he began his career as a businessman and entrepreneur. Doug is a married man with three children, Landon, Sydney, and Reagan; he became the first American on record to mountain-bike down Kilimanjaro as a part of his National and international charity work.
Doug Pitt at the So The World May Hear Gala on July 20, 2014 | Source: Getty Images
Doug Is a Businessman
In 1991, in his hometown of Springfield, Doug created the computer company he would later rename Pitt Technology Group. Around 2007, he sold a portion of his company before selling the rest six years later. In 2017, he repurchased the company and expanded its services to include apartment complexes with the internet, IT services for businesses, and fiber optic construction.
Doug is in business with a former long-time employee who became a co-owner, Kevin Waterland. With the purchase of his company, Doug was able to reshift the company's focus to align with his new goals, and he said about repurchasing his company:
"Obviously, I'm sentimental to something I started out of thin air… It's a little surreal, but it's a good thing."
Doug Pitt at the premiere of "Operation Change" in California on June 18, 2014 | Source: Getty Images
The paperwork began on October 10, 2017, and was scheduled until November. Doug had plans to relocate his business and said he wanted to return to a "traditional style of service."
Doug and Kevin expressed their goal of running a "more local and customer-oriented" company. According to the business partners, their industry had gotten "lazy," and they were allowed to provide clients with better value.
Doug's Charity Work
Doug is an avid believer that charity starts at home; in 2008, he was very disturbed by the growing poverty rate in his hometown and how it affected young people in his community. He reached out to colleagues and community leaders like Jim D. Morris to solicit change for children in need.
Doug Pitt on the "Today" Show | Source: Getty Images
Within 24 hours, Doug founded Care to Learn; the charity provided support and funding for children who needed health, hunger, and hygiene needs. In 2009, Doug's charity partnered with multiple Community colleges in the Southwest Missouri region, and on November 30, 2010, 36 000 children's needs were met.
In 2019, Doug named Christian Mechlin as the new executive director of Care to Learn; Christian took over the position from his mother and had experience as a lawyer and worked as a community service Coordinator at an elementary school. By 2019, Care to Lean had met over a million needs, and Doug decided to expand his charity work to East Africa.
From January 3 to January 14, Doug and forty-four climbers and four bike riders climbed and mountain-biked Kilimanjaro and raised $750,000 for clean water projects in Tanzania. Doug was named the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Republic of Tanzania and said it was "amazing" though it did not cover the "magical rides" he had been on before adding:
"I would do it all again to provide clean water, a luxury we as Americans sometimes take for granted."
Doug Pitt and his wife Lisa at the So The World May Hear Gala in Minnesota | Source: Getty Images
He Pokes Fun at Being Brad Pitt's Brother
Despite his success in business and philanthropy, Dough could not escape the cloud of being Brad's younger brother; fortunately, he had a sense of humor about it. In 2012, he ditched his usual "no comment" response about his brother and used Brad's fame as leverage to raise money for Care to Learn.
Doug and Lisa Pitt posing for a picture with President Jakaya Kikwete on April 19, 2010 in New York City | Source: Getty Images
Doug Is a Married Man
Doug and his wife Lisa have been married for over thirty years. When he proposed, he hid her engagement ring in a plastic egg surrounded by chocolate eggs in an Easter basket. Lisa had grown up in a household with financial struggles and was moved by the gesture, saying, "So to have something like that, somebody taking the time." She further said the secret to their successful marriage was their faith:
" It's so easy in our society to just say, 'Hey, you did that to me. I'm done.' I think having the Lord first in your life takes away that 'me' factor. It's us."
Doug Pitt and his family posing on the red carpet on July 20, 2014 | Source: Getty Images
Lisa was said to be "peeved" that she was not invited to Brad and Angelina Jolie's wedding and that only Doug was in attendance. The wedding took place in Provence, France, and had a guest list of 22 people. Doug and his sister were invited, but their spouses were not.
Lisa spoke candidly about living under the "Brad cloud" and "the whole Hollywood thing" but shared that it was something she and her family have come to terms.
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