Early Life, Education, and Banking Career
Stark was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. He served in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1957. After leaving the Air Force, Stark attended the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and received his MBA in 1960. Stark originally lived in the Bay Area, but ultimately relocated to Maryland. He primarily resides in his Maryland home with his family but still maintains a residence in the California district he represents, visiting his constituents twice per month.
In 1963, Stark founded Security National Bank, a small bank in Walnut Creek. Within 10 years it grew into a billion-dollar bank with branches across Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Stark grew up as a Republican, but his opposition to the Vietnam War led him to switch parties in the mid-1960s. He printed checks with peace signs on them and placed a giant peace sign on the roof of his bank's headquarters.
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