William 'Bill' R. Berkley is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Founder and Executive Chairman of W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB), a major global property and casualty insurance and reinsurance company. His career is rooted in finance, insurance, and entrepreneurial audacity.

Berkley holds a B.A. from The University of Minnesota and an MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS) (1969). His philosophical approach centers on scale, stability, and long-term commitment to decentralization (pioneering the decentralized insurance model). He founded W. R. Berkley Corporation in 1967 (before his MBA), recognizing the immense, untapped domestic and international demand for specialty property and casualty insurance.

• W. R. Berkley Corporation (Founder & Executive Chairman): The core publicly traded asset, a major provider of specialty property, casualty, and reinsurance globally.
• Financial Pioneer: His success is built on scale management and pioneering a highly decentralized operating model with local autonomy for underwriting.
• Academic Background: He holds an MBA from HBS and a B.A. from The University of Minnesota.
• Family Governance: He successfully transitioned the CEO role to his son, W. Robert Berkley Jr., in 2015.

William Berkley's strategic genius was his commitment to underwriting discipline and talent. He founded W. R. Berkley in 1967, successfully building it into a global force by pioneering a decentralized structure where numerous independent operating units handle specialty insurance. His structural contribution is immense: pioneering the modern decentralized specialty insurance model that transformed the industry's approach to risk and local expertise. The company successfully executed its IPO on the NYSE.

He transitioned to Executive Chairman in 2015, ensuring generational continuity. His wealth is secured by the colossal, long-term, stable profitability of the global insurance and financial services sector.

William Berkley's social impact stems from W. R. Berkley Corporation's role in providing essential insurance and reinsurance services globally, contributing to economic stability and risk management. His personal philanthropy supports various educational and community initiatives, including major contributions to the New York University (NYU) and Isabelle and William Berkley Endowed Scholarship at HBS.

His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives.

William Berkley maintains the professional, composed style of a corporate executive. His attire is consistently bespoke, favoring dark, tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects serious authority and stability, typical of a leader in the global financial sector.

Residing in Greenwich, Connecticut, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to investment strategy, financial governance, and corporate leadership.