Win McCormack
American publisher and editor
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Win McCormack (Winthrop Laflin McCormack) is an American banking heir, political activist, publisher, and editor from Oregon.
He is editor-in-chief of Tin House[1] magazine and Tin House Books, the former publisher of Oregon Magazine, founder and treasurer of MediAmerica, Inc., and a co-founder of Mother Jones magazine. He serves on the board of directors of the journal New Perspectives Quarterly.[2] His political and social writings have appeared in Oregon Humanities, Tin House, The Nation,[3] The Oregonian, and Oregon Magazine. McCormack's investigative coverage of the Rajneeshee movement was awarded a William Allen White Commendation from the University of Kansas and the City and Regional Magazine Association.
As a political activist, McCormack served as Chair of the Oregon Steering Committee for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. He was chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon's President's Council and a member of the Obama for President Oregon Finance Committee.[citation needed] Additionally, McCormack sits on the Board of Overseers for Emerson College,[4] and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles–based Liberty Hill Foundation.[5]
In February 2016, McCormack purchased The New Republic magazine from Chris Hughes.[6][7][8]
Early life and family
McCormack is the son of attorney Alfred McCormack and Winifred Byron Smith McCormack.[9]
Reed Magazine reports that, after his mother’s death, he inherited money that helped him acquire Oregon Times magazine.[10] He has been described as “an heir to a midwestern banking fortune.”[11] On his mother’s side, a published genealogy identifies Winifred Byron Smith as the child of Walter Byron Smith.[12] A contemporary profile of Walter Byron Smith states that he was the second son of Byron Laflin Smith, who founded The Northern Trust Company in 1889.[13][14]
Education
He received an A.B. from Harvard College and an MFA from the University of Oregon.[15]
Fraud Case
In 2024, McCormack's chauffeurs were arrested for allegedly defrauding him of over $34 million over the course of seven years. McCormack is the heir to a midwest banking fortune, and claimed he did not often check charges made to his account.[16]
Books
- 2008 You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values. Portland, Oregon: Tin House Books. ISBN 978-1-135-89772-7.
- 2010 The Rajneesh Chronicles. Portland, Oregon: Tin House Books. ISBN 978-0-9825691-9-1.