Biography
Stephen L. Keller is a pioneering entrepreneur, whose real-life story reads like a corporate thriller, marked by ambition, disruption, and dramatic downfall. At just 27 years old, Keller
founded Kelco, a financial firm that revolutionized the life insurance market by introducing viatical settlements, offering terminally ill patients an unprecedented way to access their life insurance benefits. By 1998, Keller launched the first-ever securitized bundles of life insurance policies on the NYSE and captured 65% of the global life settlements market: now a $30 billion
annual industry.
A member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) and a legislative trailblazer who co-authored key regulations still governing the industry today, Keller rose fast and fell hard. After a high-profile FBI investigation, a federal trial, and an international manhunt, Keller was arrested by Interpol in the jungles of Panama and extradited to the U.S., where he served 9 years in federal prison. Now, more than a decade removed from his incarceration, Keller lives in South Florida where he continues to build businesses, consult, and is an active participant in his church and community services. His scholarship fund, the Stephen L. Keller foundation continues awarding annual scholarships supporting future entrepreneurs from his hometown of eastern Kentucky.
His memoir, Pay to Play, offers a behind-the-scenes exposé of ambition, corruption, and the American obsession with winning at all costs.
The Stephen L. Keller Foundation
The Stephen L. Keller Scholarship was established to support outstanding students from Eastern Kentucky who intend to major in a business-related field. The student must attend an accredited four-year educational institution in Kentucky. Graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students are eligible to apply. The Student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. This scholarship provides an award of $2,000 that is renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
Letters of Appreciation
Beds for Kids
Beds for Kids is a faith-based nonprofit serving Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Their mission is to bring dignity and rest to children by providing free beds — mattresses, bedding, Bible, and more.
Volunteers paint scripture on the bed slats so each child literally “sleeps on the Word.” To date, over 400 beds have been delivered.
