Bass's father founded Bass Brothers Enterprises in 1960 after inheriting $11 million from his great uncle Sid W. Richardson in 1959.[6]
In 1985, Robert Bass founded the Robert M. Bass Group as his personal investment company.[4] In 1990, it was renamed Keystone, Inc., after the Keystone Field in West Texas from which the Bass family derived their fortune.[7] He founded Oak Hill Capital Partners as a family office in 1986.[8]
In April 1987, Bass and other owners of TFBA Limited Partnership bought and took private Taft Broadcasting for $1.43 billion.[9]
In March 1988, Bass sold the Plaza Hotel to Donald Trump, thanks to their mutual friend Tom Barrack.[10] In April 1988, he led a buy-out of Bell & Howell.[11] In June 1988, Bass made an offer to purchase Macmillan Inc., the publishing and information company, but the company responded with a restructuring.[4]
Bass formerly served as chairman of the board at Aerion Supersonic, a developer of supersonic business jets. Bass was replaced by Tom Vice as chairman upon the announcement of a partnership between Boeing and Aerion on February 5, 2019.[12]
Bass and his wife Anne donated $13 million to fund the renovation of Yale's Cross Campus Library, which was renamed the Bass Library.[14] In 2005, they donated $30 million to the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[15] In 2013, they donated $50 million to Duke University to support Bass Connections, an initiative to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration and studies.[16] In 2001, Bass and his wife donated $10 million to Duke to strengthen undergraduate teaching. They also donated $10 million in 1996 to establish the Bass Society of Fellows at Duke.[17] They also contributed to the creation of Bass Hall in Downtown Fort Worth (performing arts venue located in Fort Worth, Texas that routinely hosts musical and theatrical performances).[18]