Kenneth Rainin was an unstoppable entrepreneur who built his fortune founding scientific and medical products companies, and who later parlayed  his wealth and management expertise to serve many charitable causes.

The son of William and Betty Rainin, he was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1938. He graduated from Ohio State University before enlisting in the Army. Mr. Rainin entered the business world shortly after his discharge from the US Army. At the age of 25, he founded Rainin Instrument Company which initially distributed laboratory instruments and supplies. Mr. Rainin secured the rights to sell a line of laboratory pipettes, and through design improvements, built the Pipetman into the dominant brand of pipettes used in laboratories.

Mr. Rainin was involved in many civic and cultural activities. Among his greatest passions was the San Francisco Ballet, which he served as Former Chairman of the Executive Committee.  He was a solid supporter of medical research at UCSF, and contributed $18 million into research on Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBD).

Many would argue his greatest talent lay in design and innovation. He used these talents to build his businesses, as well as two of the world’s most elegant motor yachts, each christened Rasselas, named after Samuel Johnson’s epic fictional character, The Prince of Abyssinia, who traveled throughout ancient Arabia in search of happiness.

Kenneth Rainin passed away in May, 2007. He was 68.