Mike Yanney, the Kearney native who would found public investment titan Burlington Capital Group and had quite the giving heart across Kearney and Omaha, has died at the age of 92.
Yanney’s death was confirmed by multiple political and business figures on Sunday.
A member of Kearney High’s Class of 1952 and Kearney State College’s class of 1955, Yanney founded America First Companies in 1984. America First would be the first S&P-rated mortgage fund in the United States. Renamed Burlington Capital in 2006, the firm manages 27 investment funds in 40 countries, boasting seven billion in raised, financed and managed assets.
Outside of his business ventures, Yanney and his wife Gail are best known for their philanthropic efforts across Nebraska. One of his biggest gifts was the creation and donation of land for Yanney Heritage Park in Kearney. He also founded The Partnership for Our Kids with Gail in 1986, which is a mentoring and scholarship program for at-risk youth in Greater Omaha.
In 2017, Yanney was named the 2017 Distinguished Graduate by the Kearney Public Schools Foundation, and was presented the 2024 Ron and Carol Cope Cornerstone of Excellence Award by former UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen. The Omaha Press Club presented Yanney in 2021 with the Face on the Barroom Floor.
On social media Sunday afternoon, Governor Jim Pillen said; “As he was for countless others, Mike has been a true friend for a long time. From sharing his enduring vision for making Nebraska better—which he did until the very end—to swapping jokes during our overlapping hospital stays after my horseback riding accident, Mike was never without a smile, never short on optimism, and never without belief in the greatness of America. His was a life truly well lived and we are better for it. We lift the Yanney family up in prayer and thank them for sharing Mike with the rest of us for much of the last century.”
CentralNebraskaToday.com will have more on this developing story.
