Lewis Katz

Lewis Katz
Born January 11, 1942
Camden, NJ, USA
Died May 31, 2014 (aged 72)
Bedford, MA, USA

Lewis Katz (January 11, 1942 – May 31, 2014) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and newspaper publisher, who was a co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Early life

Katz was born in Camden, New Jersey, on January 11, 1942,[1] and grew up in the Parkside section of the city, now one of New Jersey’s most crime-ridden. He was raised along with his sister, Sandra Katz (Wolff) by their mother, a secretary at RCA, after their father died when they were very young.[2]

Career

He became a lawyer and businessman, making millions in parking lots, billboards and sports. Katz was a former owner of Kinney Parking Systems, at the time the largest parking company in New York City, and the former chairman of Interstate Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest regional outdoor-advertising firms in the country. He was the majority owner of five radio stations in Atlantic and Cape May counties at the Jersey Shore, and a founding partner of the law firm Katz, Ettin & Levine in Cherry Hill.[3]

Sports ownership

Katz invested in the two New Jersey sports teams back in 2000. He was part of the YankeeNets/Puck Holdings group along with Ray Chambers. The group purchased the Devils from their original owner Dr. John McMullen.[4]

Katz's ownership involvement of both teams ended in 2003 when the YankeeNets group disintegrated with the Devils being sold to Jeffrey Vanderbeek and the Nets sold to Bruce Ratner. The Devils have since been sold again while the Nets were also sold and moved to Brooklyn.[4]

Philanthropy

A noted philanthropist, he was the director of the Katz Foundation, which supports charitable, educational and medical causes. To support pioneering medical research, Katz established an annual prize and endowed a visiting professorship in cardiovascular research at Columbia University, where he serves on the Board of Visitors of the medical school. His $15 million gift to The Dickinson Schools of Law of The Pennsylvania State University helped fund the extensive renovation of historic Trickett Hall at Dickinson Law in Carlisle, PA, and fund the development of a law school building for Penn State Law in University Park, PA, both of which bear his name. A native of Camden, N.J, Katz has established several programs to help Camden children. Katz also donated to Jewish organizations, focused on young Jewish[5] entrepreneurs.[6]

Death

On May 31, 2014, Katz and 6 others died when their private plane crashed at Hanscom Field and erupted into fire. An FAA spokesperson said that a Gulfstream IV corporate jet apparently ran off Runway 11 at the base at around 9:40 p.m. The aircraft was departing to Atlantic City, New Jersey when it caught fire.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Arnold, Laurence (2014-06-01). "Lewis Katz, Who Co-Owned Nets, Devils, Inquirer, Dies at 72". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  2. ↑ Abrams, Rachel (June 1, 2014). "Lewis Katz, Victor in Fight to Own Philadelphia Inquirer, Dies at 72". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  3. ↑ Gammage, Jeff. "How Katz touched many lives - and never forgot his roots". philly.com. Interstate General Media, LLC. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stubits, Brian. "Lewis Katz, former owner of Devils, Nets, dies in plane crash". cbssports.com. CBS. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Philanthropist Lewis Katz inspires next generation at ‘Fireside Chat’". M.jewishvoicesnj.org. 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
  6. ↑ "Lewis Katz". Gabriel-Investments. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ Miller, Anthony. "Officials: 7 aboard plane died after crash at Hanscom Field". wsvn.com. WorldNow and WSVN. Retrieved June 5, 2014.