The Bronfmans

The Bronfmans PDF Author: Nicholas Faith
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429904127
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
For decades, the Bronfman family ruled Seagram's and the liquor industry. This is the story of their meteoric rise and spectacular fall. The story of the Bronfman family is a fascinating and improbable saga. It is dominated by "Mr. Sam," the single greatest figure in the history of the liquor business, the man who made drinking whiskey respectable in the United States and who in the 1950s and 1960s built Seagram into the first worldwide empire in wine and spirits. After Sam's death in 1971, his oldest son, Edgar, maintained the business, though he was distracted by his matrimonial problems. Nevertheless, in the 1980s he masterminded a major coup when he translated a small investment in oil made by his father into a 25 percent stake in the mighty DuPont company. But in the 1990s, Edgar allowed his second son, Edgar Jr., to indulge his ambition to become a media tycoon. The stake in DuPont was sold, and the money reinvested in Universal, the film and theme-park empire. Edgar Jr. then paid more than $10 billion to buy Polygram Records and thus fulfill his fancy to be king of the world's music business. But at the same time, he remained in charge of the liquor business, which started to stagnate—indeed, to fall apart. Then came the final disaster when the increasingly divided family sold out to Jean-Marie Messier, overreaching empire builder of Vivendi, the French conglomerate. But the story of this amazing family over the past century is about more than booze and business. The Bronfmans is a spectacular account that details the larger-than-life personalities and bitter rivalries that have made the family so famous and, sometimes, so infamous.

The Bronfmans

The Bronfmans PDF Author: Nicholas Faith
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429904127
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
For decades, the Bronfman family ruled Seagram's and the liquor industry. This is the story of their meteoric rise and spectacular fall. The story of the Bronfman family is a fascinating and improbable saga. It is dominated by "Mr. Sam," the single greatest figure in the history of the liquor business, the man who made drinking whiskey respectable in the United States and who in the 1950s and 1960s built Seagram into the first worldwide empire in wine and spirits. After Sam's death in 1971, his oldest son, Edgar, maintained the business, though he was distracted by his matrimonial problems. Nevertheless, in the 1980s he masterminded a major coup when he translated a small investment in oil made by his father into a 25 percent stake in the mighty DuPont company. But in the 1990s, Edgar allowed his second son, Edgar Jr., to indulge his ambition to become a media tycoon. The stake in DuPont was sold, and the money reinvested in Universal, the film and theme-park empire. Edgar Jr. then paid more than $10 billion to buy Polygram Records and thus fulfill his fancy to be king of the world's music business. But at the same time, he remained in charge of the liquor business, which started to stagnate—indeed, to fall apart. Then came the final disaster when the increasingly divided family sold out to Jean-Marie Messier, overreaching empire builder of Vivendi, the French conglomerate. But the story of this amazing family over the past century is about more than booze and business. The Bronfmans is a spectacular account that details the larger-than-life personalities and bitter rivalries that have made the family so famous and, sometimes, so infamous.

Why Be Jewish?

Why Be Jewish? PDF Author: Edgar Bronfman
Publisher: Twelve
ISBN: 1455562882
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Edgar M. Bronfman's clarion call to a generation of secular, disaffected, and unaffiliated Jews, this book addresses the most critical question confronting Judaism worldwide. Completed in December 2013, just weeks before he passed away, Why Be Jewish? expresses Edgar Bronfman's awe, respect, and deep love for his faith and heritage. Bronfman walks readers through the major tenets and ideas in Jewish life, fleshing out their meaning and offering proof texts from the Jewish tradition gleaned over his many years of study with some of the greatest teachers in the Jewish world. With honesty, poignancy, and passion, Bronfman shares in Why Be Jewish? insights gleaned from his own personal journey and makes a compelling case for the meaning and transcendence of a secular Judaism that is still steeped in deep moral values, authentic Jewish texts, and a focus on deed over creed or dogma.

Samuel Bronfman

Samuel Bronfman PDF Author: Michael Robert Marrus
Publisher: Hanover, New Hampshire : Published by University Press of New England [for] Brandeis University Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
The irascible son of a Jewish pioneer from Czarist Russia whose business acumen built an international company renowned for the quality of its products. Samuel Bronfman's father failed as a wheat farmer and then found success selling frozen fish, firewood, and horses. At this point young Sam observed to his father, "The bar makes more profits than we do. Instead of selling horses, we should be selling the drinks". And thus began what was to become the Seagram whiskey empire. Sam's insight and timing were right as Canada, and especially the United States, were coming under the influence of the temperance movement. While legend often places Sam in the thick of Prohibition era bootlegging and rum running, in fact he built for the long term and kept his operations within both the law and its loopholes as he supplied American bootleggers. Sam demonstrated his marketing genius by insisting on quality in a business notorious for cutting corners and thereby set the standard for the industry in the decades to follow. Sam's success in penetrating the American market was such that after Prohibition his competitors lobbied the federal government for protection. While Samuel Bronfman is a classic rags to riches tale, it is also the story of a Jew who remained in many ways outside business and social establishments even after becoming internationally famous. Commuting every week between his Montreal and New York office, his was a private life centered on his family and their home in Montreal and summer places such as Tarrytown, New York. In the 1950s Sam, under instructions from his daughter Phyllis Lambert, commissioned Mies van der Rohe to design a new corporate headquarters, the Seagram buildingat 375 Park Avenue, a landmark on the New York City skyline. As a leader of the Jewish community Sam was elected president of the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1939, and went on to organize financial aid to the fledgling state of Israel, beginning decades long involvement in Jewish affairs and support for the Jewish state.

Good Spirits

Good Spirits PDF Author: Edgar M. Bronfman
Publisher: Putnam Adult
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Traces the author's involvement with the Seagram Company, and his experiences and reflections as he learned the running of the business from the ground up.

Distilled

Distilled PDF Author: Charles Bronfman
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1443448494
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
While much has been written about his father, Sam, a titan of industry, there is no public record of Charles Bronfman’s thoughts on his own life, family, career and his significant accomplishments in sport and philanthropy. Distilled does just that, chronicling key events in the life of the heir to one of Canada’s great fortunes. Born in 1931 to the fabulously wealthy Bronfmans, Charles grew up in a 20-room mansion with many staff. Via their control of the distilling giant Seagram, the Bronfman family dominated the liquor business with brands such as Crown Royal, V.O. and Chivas Regal. By the 1980s, Seagram was also the biggest shareholder of DuPont and by the 1990s, the family’s wealth was in the billions, culminating in the $35-billion sale of Seagram to France’s Vivendi, which turned into a financial and family disaster. In Distilled, Charles reflects on all of it---his relationship with his parents, his brother Edgar, working in the family business, landing Canada’s first big league baseball franchise (the Montreal Expos), leading a philanthropic life by promoting Canadian identity through Heritage Minutes and supporting Israel through countless innovative initiatives including the globally respected Birthright Israel---and to how the Bronfman family splintered over the sale of Seagram.

The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings

The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings PDF Author: Michael Newton
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438129882
Category : Kidnapping
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Presents a historical survey of kidnappings from biblical times to the present.

New York Magazine

New York Magazine PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

Official Summary of Security Transactions and Holdings Reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935

Official Summary of Security Transactions and Holdings Reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 PDF Author: United States. Securities and Exchange Commission
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Securities
Languages : en
Pages : 876

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Book Description


The Bronfman Haggadah

The Bronfman Haggadah PDF Author: Edgar M. Bronfman
Publisher:
ISBN: 0847839680
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
A beautifully illustrated contemporary Haggadah for the Passover Seder, as interpreted by the world-renowned philanthropist and Jewish leader Edgar M. Bronfman. This Haggadah will inspire and delight all ages. Designed to foster Jewish pride, Edgar Bronfman’s text continues the traditional commandment to retell the Exodus story of slavery and freedom for future generations. The Haggadah teaches people of all ages about Judaism with a fresh perspective while helping to define Passover for everyone at the Seder table. The author’s creative approach weaves together meaningful readings, from the nineteenth-century abolitionist Frederick Douglas to a lesser-known poet, Marge Piercy. Bronfman captures the young reader’s imagination when each child, teenager, and adult assumes the role of a character in the Exodus story, or perhaps to become one of the story’s narrators. Watercolor paintings, created specially for this book, illustrate its main parts: the Seder plate’s symbolic foods, the parting of the Red Sea, the forty-year journey, the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, to name a few. The Bronfman Haggadah is a welcome addition for the avid collector, as well as to be used as the Haggadah of choice to enrich the Passover Seder experience with its refreshing interactive approach.

Spirited Commitment

Spirited Commitment PDF Author: Roderick MacLeod
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773537104
Category : Family foundations
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
An institutional history of one of Canada's premier philanthropic organizations.