Jackson Thomas Stephens Sr (August 9, 1923 – July 23, 2005)[1] was an American oilman and investment banker.
Stephens was born on a farm near Prattsville in Grant County in south Arkansas, the youngest of six children.
Stephens attended the United States Naval Academy, where he met and became friends with a midshipman from Georgia named Jimmy Carter.
By 1994 Stephens, Inc., was listed as one of the biggest institutional shareholders in thirty large multinationals including the Arkansas-based Worthen Bank, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, and Alltel.
[4] Stephens and his wife were key backers of the unsuccessful bid of U.S. Representative Tommy F. Robinson of Arkansas's 2nd congressional district for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1990.