Leonore Annenberg

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Leonore Annenberg
Leonore Annenberg

Leonore Annenberg (far left) with husband Walter (center) and United States President Ronald Reagan (far right), February 6, 1981
In office
March 20, 1981–January 6, 1982
President Ronald Reagan
Preceded by Abelardo L. Valdez
Succeeded by Selwa Roosevelt
Born February 20, 1918 (1918-02-20) (age 90)
New York City,
New York, United States
Nationality American
Spouse Lewis Rosensteil
Walter Annenberg (1951–2002)
Residence Rancho Mirage, California
Religion Jewish
Website Annenberg Foundation

Leonore Cohn Rosenstiel Annenberg (born February 20, 1918) is a billionaire former Chief of Protocol of the United States (1981–1982). She is the widow of former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom and influential business magnate as well as philanthropist Walter Annenberg, and currently serves as the chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Leonore was born in New York City on February 20, 1918. She graduated from Stanford University in 1940 with a Bachelor of Arts degree,[1] and soon married Schenley liquors manager Lewis Rosensteil; they had two children but divorced.[2] Leonore married Walter Annenberg in 1951.[2]

[edit] Ambassador's wife

Upon her husband's appointment as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1969, Mrs. Annenberg ordered a renovation of the thirty-five room Winfield House, the ambassador's official London residence. The total cost of the project was about US$1 million and took six months to complete.[3] While in London, Leonore founded the American Friends of Covent Garden,[1] an organization designed to foster goodwill between the U.S. and Great Britain through musical expression.[4]

[edit] Chief of Protocol

The Annenbergs contributed substantially to Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, and upon his election in 1981, Leonore was named Chief of Protocol of the United States, placing her in charge of advising the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State on matters dealing with diplomatic protocol.[5] While Chief of Protocol, she achieved the rank of Ambassador.[5] Annenberg resigned her post in January 1982, stating that she wanted to spend more time with her husband.[6]

[edit] Philanthropy and later life

She and her husband continued to donate money as philanthropists until her husband's death on October 1, 2002.[2] She succeeded him as chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation, an organization founded by her late husband which funds nonprofit organizations as well as education institutes and programs of the arts. Leonore Annenberg continues to donate money to worthy causes in the fields of science, education, and art.[7] In 2006, she was ranked as the 382nd wealthiest person in the world by Forbes magazine,[8] and the 488th in 2007.[9] Annenberg is the 165th richest person in the United States, according to Forbes, with a net worth of 2.5 billion dollars.[10] She resides in Rancho Mirage, California.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Leonore Annenberg. Council of American Ambassadors (2004). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  2. ^ a b c "Publisher, Philanthropist Walter Annenberg Dies", The Washington Post, 2002-10-02, p. A01. Retrieved on 2007-11-24. 
  3. ^ Glueck, Grace. "Walter Annenberg, 94, Dies; Philanthropist and Publisher", The New York Times, 2002-10-02, p. 4. Retrieved on 2007-11-24. 
  4. ^ British-American Organizations in the New York Area. American British Embassy. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  5. ^ a b Gerhard, Peter. Nomination of Leonore Annenberg To Have the Rank of Ambassador While Serving as Chief of Protocol for the White House. americanpresidency.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  6. ^ Heller, Karen. "Tonight, big giver will be receiving", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2007-06-18. Retrieved on 2007-11-25. 
  7. ^ #133 Leonore Annenberg. Forbes.com (2005). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  8. ^ #382 Leonore Annenberg. Forbes.com (2006). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  9. ^ #488 Leonore Annenberg. Forbes.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  10. ^ 2007 'Forbes' 400 richest Americans. Forbes. USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.