David I Saperstein

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David I Saperstein is an American entrepreneur, billionaire and farmer. The father of five children, he currently lives in Houston, Texas.

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[edit] Biography

Saperstein was born in Baltimore. He dropped out of college to sell used cars. When he got stuck in a snowstorm he came up with the idea to sell traffic reports on the radio. He founded Metro Networks in 1978. Metro Networks grew to serve half of all radio stations in the U.S. In 1996, Saperstein decided to take Metro Networks public under the Nasdaq exchange, stock symbol MTNT.

He made his fortune when he sold the company to Westwood One in 1999 for $1.25 billion in stocks. Now he operates tree farms in Texas and Florida: "It's a growing business," he once told a reporter for Forbes Magazine.

During the 1990’s, Saperstein built a massive estate for his then-wife, Suzanne, sprawled across several acres in the hills outside of Los Angeles. The home is listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the most expensive in the United States, with an estimated property value of about $100 million. The compound occupies about 45,000-square-feet, and it is called Fleur de Lys.

Saperstein also built a sprawling horse ranch near Fleur de Lys, called Hummingbird Ranch, which was featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2004.

[edit] Divorce

In 2006 Saperstein divorced his wife of 23 years, Swedish philanthropist Suzanne Saperstein. When Saperstein met his current wife, he reportedly having the divorce papers served to her after she landed from Transatlantic flight from Europe to the United States.

Saperstein later married their Swedish nanny, Hillevi Svensson.

[edit] Entrepreneurialism

Saperstein’s business story is a real-American rags-to-riches tale. He began his career selling used cars in Baltimore, but quickly found there was a niche for radio programming to include traffic reports. While traffic reporting was already a part of radio programming in some cities, Saperstein found there was no single company providing concise reports for stations, either regionally or nationally.

In 1978 he founded Metro Networks, in Houston, Texas. The company grew, through the 1980’s, into a veritable traffic reporting empire, and in 1996, Saperstein took the company public on the Nasdaq exchange.

In 1998, Saperstein, with his son-in-law, Shane Coppola, began negotiating a merger agreement with Westwood One, and in September 1999 three companies merged, Metro Networks, Copter Acquisition Corp. and Westwood One.

Only 9 days before the merger between Metro Networks and Westwood One, Saperstein started a new company called Five “S” Capital, Inc. Five “S” is an investment company that helps to fund new business development. Saperstein brought many of his former Metro Networks executives on board Five “S” Capital, including Metro Networks’ former general counsel, Gary Worobow. Worobow remains general counsel for Five “S” Capital, and also serves as general counsel and a director for Global Traffic Network, which was founded by Westwood One in 2005.

[edit] Philanthropic Work

Saperstein sits on the boards of Cedars-Sinai Hospital and Music Center of Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee.

In 2006, the Saperstein Critical Care tower that bears his name was opened at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Initially named the David and Suzanne Saperstein Tower, it had to be renamed after his rancorous divorce.

[edit] External links

  • [1] Metro Networks website
  • [2] Global Traffic Network website
  • [3] Securities and Exchange Commission company filings
  • [4] Encyclopdia.com List of Los Angeles’ Wealth
  • [5] Los Angeles Times
  • [6] Homeland Security Advisory Committee
  • [7] New York Social Diary: It’s Splitsville for Billionaire David Saperstein
  • Forbes.com 2002, Forbes 400 richest in America
  • Sunday Independent Sapersteins square up for the most expensive divorce in history