William Bernard Ziff, Jr. (June 24, 1930 – September 9, 2006) was an American publishing executive. His father, William B. Ziff, Sr., was the co-founder of Ziff Davis Inc. and when the elder Ziff died in 1953, Ziff took over the management of the company. After buying out partner Bernard G. Davis, he led Ziff Davis to become the most successful publisher of technology magazines in the 1970s and 1980s. [1]
He was born on June 24, 1930 to William B. Ziff, Sr.. He graduated from Rutgers University and was studying philosophy in West Germany when he was called back to New York City to take command of Ziff Davis Inc. following his father's death. In 1959 Davis sold his share of the company to start his own publishing company. Ziff led the company in the direction of enthusiast magazines and trade publications with the acquisition of such titles as Car and Driver, Popular Electronics, PC Magazine, and Computer Shopper.[1]
Ziff's approach was to publish magazines that entertained the enthusiasts, but also interested what he called "brand specifiers" — people who had purchasing power in the companies for which they worked. As a result, manufacturers and retailers were eager to advertise in his magazines at a time when general-interest publications were suffering from a lack of advertising sales.[1]
He learned in 1978 that he had prostate cancer and was told he had only a few years to live. Ziff had told his three sons that if they were not interested in continuing the business after him, he would sell the company. They were not interested. In 1984 he sold the consumer and business magazines for US$912.5 million. In 1994 he announced the sale of the publishing group to Forstmann Little & Company for US$7.4 billion. The sale of the electronic publishing unit occurred later.[1]
Ziff died of prostate cancer in Pawling, New York, where he lived with his second wife, Tamsen Ann Ziff.[1][2]
His three sons, Dirk Ziff, Robert Ziff, and Daniel Ziff, are principals of Ziff Brothers Investments in Manhattan and Greenwich, Connecticut and were listed on the 2007 Forbes 400 list with a net worth of approximately $15.5 billion.[3]