That intellectual journey brought Jordan and his wife, Lyn, to make one of the most significant planned gifts in Cato’s history: a multimillion-dollar legacy contribution to the institute they have supported since 1995.
Jordan and Lyn’s relationship with Cato has never been passive. For nearly seven years in Austin, Texas, they opened their home every month to host the Austin Civil Society—a gathering of libertarian-minded neighbors, professionals, and thinkers. Lyn, a trained chef, would prepare a simple meal of spaghetti and salad and a glass of wine. Good conversation would follow. It was informal, warm, and built around a shared willingness to sit together and think seriously about ideas.
That experience deepened something in both of them: an appreciation for principles held with integrity over time. When it came to their legacy planning, they asked a question every thoughtful donor eventually faces: Who do you trust with the unknowable future? Institutions drift. Missions erode. Jordan and Lyn wanted their resources to go to some organization they were confident would remain philosophically grounded long after they were gone.
For them, the answer was clear. “Past results predict future performance more with Cato than with most,” Jordan says. “That’s simply a matter of trust. And we trust Cato.”
Thirty years of engagement—of reading, giving, and building community around shared convictions—brought them to this moment. Their legacy gift is the fullest expression of that journey: a confident, considered bet on the enduring power of liberty’s principles.
“It ultimately comes down to liberty versus power,” Jordan reflects. “What’s important are the principles you hold.”
