Good Neighbors Still Exist in Idaho
Thomas Tull’s donation to Teton County law enforcement shows how real Idaho neighbors step up when their community needs them.
Teton County, Idaho, has faced some hard math lately. Budgets were cut, nonprofits lost funding, and commissioners debated whether the county could afford to add new deputies to an already stretched Sheriff’s Office. With long response times and staffing levels below Idaho’s rural average, the department was doing more with less. That’s when a neighbor stepped in.
Thomas Tull, through his Teton Ridge Ranch Foundation, committed $1.5 million over three years to support the Teton County Sheriff’s Foundation. The funds will help hire and retain deputies, improve training, and modernize emergency response. Sheriff Clint Lemieux called the donation a “game changer” for public safety. At a time when rural counties across Idaho are struggling to maintain basic services, Tull’s gift directly strengthens the institutions that keep our communities safe.
That act reflects something deeper about Idaho’s character. We pride ourselves on self-reliance, but independence doesn’t mean isolation. It means taking care of one another when help is needed. When government budgets come up short, Idahoans have a long history of filling the gap themselves. Tull’s donation fits squarely within that tradition—neighbors helping neighbors just for the sake of doing the right thing.
His story helps explain why he values that principle. Raised by a single mother in a working-class community, Tull learned early that survival often meant innovation. He got his start improving a neighborhood laundromat in a place where many families couldn’t afford in-home machines. By adding technology and efficiency, he made the service more affordable for locals while making the business sustainable. That habit of looking for more innovative and data-driven approaches to solve problems became the foundation of his career.
From there, he applied data and technology to new industries. He modernized tax preparation systems and later brought analytics into Hollywood, founding Legendary Entertainment—the studio behind The Dark Knight, Inception, Jurassic World, Man of Steel, and The Hangover. His data-driven model reshaped the film business, proving that creativity and sound investment could work together.
After selling Legendary, Tull turned his focus to energy, artificial intelligence, and defense projects aimed at improving efficiency and security on a national scale. Along the way, he achieved what most people would call the American dream, including part ownership in the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Yankees. But his attention has turned toward Idaho, where he’s built a life at Teton Ridge Ranch and invested in the surrounding community.
The Teton Ridge Ranch Foundation has supported the Teton County Fairgrounds, the Community Foundation of Teton Valley, and the county’s Joint Housing Authority, each one a project that keeps small-town life strong. Now, with his donation to the Sheriff’s Foundation, Tull has addressed one of the county’s most pressing needs: keeping law enforcement adequately staffed and equipped to serve local residents.
Idaho’s growth brings newcomers every year, and not all understand what makes this state special. Tull’s approach sets the right example. He didn’t come here to change Idaho—he came to contribute to it. His investment in law enforcement shows respect for local values, stability, and the people who put their lives on the line to keep Idaho safe.
Idaho’s strength depends on citizens who support their communities. Thomas Tull’s donation will help deputies respond faster, reduce turnover, and keep Teton County safe. By using success to solve real problems, he demonstrates how private prosperity can lead to public good. His example proves that Idaho’s tradition of neighbors helping neighbors remains effective when people step up and take responsibility for one another.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and resides in Star, Idaho.
Good story! As I recently heard at a local gathering regarding our growth - ‘don’t change Idaho, let Idaho change you’. So he is living the principals of being a good neighbor, something more people should strive for.
Thanks for your Information. Yet I am Very Much a SKEPTIC of Multi millionaires, Let alone Hundred of MILLIONS, and BILLIONS I do not TRUST. 4 % interest on $1 Billion is $40 Million. So he "GIVES" $1.5 Million over 3 years?
To make the County GROW? What we need, and "NOT HURT the WEALTHY" , we Need to Return to the Taxing Prior to RONALD REAGAN. 70% or More, No LOOPHOLES. Then the TAX Base is there FROM EVERYONE, Not a PHILANTHROPIC PITTANCE of a Donation, This SEEMs to me to be SIMILAR to the Appalachian Coal mining days when the OLIGARCHS owned the Mine, Store, Housing and Town, Plus the Law, Judges. Idaho has seen this also, with Several Wealthy OVERLORDS , Idaho is only 135 years old. They are In POWER "NOW" in 2025 or FUNDED by WEALTHY. That is Dictatorial Leverage, as we are Seeing on a National Scale, From Musk, Crow, Leonard leo, Thiel, over a 1,100 Billionaires, Just in the USA, 13 of 15 Cabinet Posts in the White House are Billionaires. What do they CARE about PEOPLE? They cannot, DONOT, and Will not attempt to RELATE to the General Population. No More than KING GEORGE and the Barons of Wealth in the 1760s. or the USA Southern Plantation Oligarchs of 1800s. What Does this Billionaire want, From the County, or State?