Mortimer Zuckerman
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Mortimer Benjamin ("Mort") Zuckerman (born 1937, in Montreal, Canada) is a self-made American billionaire magazine editor, publisher, real estate tycoon.
Zuckerman co-founded Boston Properties, Inc. in 1970 where he is chairman of the board, and director. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report and the publisher/owner of the New York Daily News since 1993. Zuckerman is the 382nd richest man in the world by Forbes list[1].
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Education
Zuckerman graduated from Harvard University's Law School with L.L.M. in 1962, University of Pennsylvania's the Wharton School with M.B.A. and distinction of honor in 1961, McGill University in Montreal, Canada with L.L.B. in 1961, and B.A. in 1957. He entered McGill at the age of 16. He then proceeded to run the Fraternity KOK - Kappa Omega Kappa. This was frequently referred to as "The Cock House". He and the brothers threw raucous parties that drew the ire of the student body council and the Deans.
[edit] Professional life
Zuckerman taught at Harvard Business School as an associate professor for nine years and at Yale University. He also spent seven years at real estate firm Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, where he rose to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer[2].
In 1980, he acquired the literary magazine the Atlantic Monthly, where he was Chairman from 1980 to 1999. In 1984, Mortimer Zuckerman bought U.S. News & World Report, where he remains its Editor-in-Chief.
Zuckerman serves on the Board of Trustees of several educational and private institutions such as New York University, the Aspen Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the Hole in the Wall Gang Fund, the Center for Communications. He is a member of the JPMorgan's National Advisory Board, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He worked as a president of the Board of Trustees of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
[edit] Associations
Zuckerman is known to be a mentor to and close associate of Daniel M. Snyder[3], owner of the NFL American football team Washington Redskins. He has been a financial backer to Snyder's business ventures (CampusUSA magazine)[4], and was a shareholder and director in Snyder Communications Inc.[5], a marketing services business which was taken over in 2000 (by Havas Advertising).
[edit] Other interests
In addition to his publishing and real-estate interests, Zuckerman is also a sought-after commentator on world affairs and an active supporter of Israeli, Zionist and international Jewish and non-Jewish humanitarian causes.
Between 2001 and 2003, Zuckerman was the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Typically, the nominating committee attempts to choose a person who is both respected and uncontroverisal. However, Zuckerman was widely opposed by liberal portions of organized American jewry ([1], [2]). Nonetheless, Zuckerman was eventually elected and served a full term.
In 2005, before the Jewish settlers' pullout from Gaza, at James Wolfensohn's request, Zuckerman made private plea to his friends including Bill Gates, and Leonard Stern and raised $14 million within two days for a private advocacy group the Aspen Institute which bought greenhouses owned by Jews in Gaza and transferred it to Palestinians as gift.[6] Greenhouses covering one-fourth of the land set aside for them were damaged by Palestinian looters after the handover, but there have been signs of a rebound since the Palestinian Authority restored order. However, in April 2006, the greenhouse was dismantled for good.
[edit] Trivia
- Zuckerman's New York Daily News ran an editorial opposing NYU's Graduate Student Organizing Committee's attempt to win a second union contract in late 2005, but failed to report that the owner of the paper was a trustee, a possible conflict of interest.
- He occasionally appears on The McLaughlin Group and writes columns for U.S. News & World Report and the New York Daily News, usually taking liberal to centrist positions on political matters, unless Israel is at issue, whereby he adopts highly conservative views on matters related to Israel's security, etc. Among others, a cause he often advocates in his columns is support for Israel.
- Zuckerman was awarded the Commandeur De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
- After being placed on The Colbert Report's "On-Notice" list, Zuckerman was the first man to respond to the Comedy Central show's 60 day challenge to defend himself. Colbert then removed him from the list.
[edit] References
- ^ Forbes, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-04-27.
- ^ Boston Properties Management bio. Boston Properties (current).
- ^ From a College Dropout to Billionaire Owner of Washington Redskins. Chicago Business Online (28 October, 2004).
- ^ Forward Motion. Washington Post (15 September, 2002).
- ^ SEC 424B4 filing for Snyder Communications. US Securities & Exchanges Commission (21 May 1998).
- ^ Mideast Outlook: Palestinians can't compromise on minor issue. Bruce S.Ticker. Crisisisrael.com (August 27, 2005).
