Category Archives: Business & Finance

Jews in the World of Business and Finance

Jews of the Week: Leo Kahn and Thomas Stemberg

Possibly Everything On Your Desk (Including the Desk)

Staples Founders Thomas Stemberg and Leo Kahn

Leo Kahn (1916-2011) was born to Jewish-Lithuanian immigrants who owned a whole foods store in Massachusetts. After getting degrees from Harvard and Columbia, Kahn served across the globe for the US Air Force during World War II. Following this, Kahn took his parents store to a new level, opening up a chain of supermarkets which today go by many different brand names, the largest being Whole Foods. His greatest competitor was Thomas Stemberg, owner of First National Supermarkets. After battling each other in price wars, the two came together (as all Jews should do!) and realized there was a serious lack in the office supply industry. Thus was born Staples. This chain now has over 2280 stores in 26 countries, with a revenue of nearly $30 billion and over 90,000 employees. The EPA ranks Staples as one of the top 25 environmentally-friendly corporations, and the company is well-known for their philanthropic work. Leo Kahn passed away last May at age 94.

Words of the Week

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.
– Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a

Jew of the Week: Haim Saban

Haim Saban & the Power Rangers

Haim Saban – entertaining kids since 1975

Haim Saban (b. 1944) was born in Egypt. His family fled to Israel along with much of the Egyptian-Jewish community due to the 1956 Sinai War. After serving in the Israeli army, Saban formed a band called Ha’Arayot (the Lions), which gained fame across Europe. Building on this success, he started a record company in France in 1975, which went on to become the most successful of its time, selling over 18 million records. Saban then turned his attention to the TV industry and is noted for introducing Japanese Anime to European audiences. In 1988, Haim formed Saban Entertainment, producing such classics as the original X-Men TV series, and brought Dragon Ball Z and Digimon to the Western world. Perhaps most notably, Saban created the Power Rangers. In 2001, he sold much of his media empire to Disney, which remains the largest cash transaction by an individual in Hollywood history. He is worth over $3 billion and currently runs an investment group called Saban Capital. BusinessWeek lists him as one of the 50 greatest philanthropists in the world.

Words of the Week

Don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big God is.
– Bumper Sticker

From the Torah

“You shall surely open your hand…” – Deuteronomy 15:8.
It is one of the 613 commandments to give charity to the needy. Even a poor person must give charity to one needier than they.

Jews of the Week: Eric Cantor and Moshe Kantor

Mineral Leader, Majority Leader

Moshe Kantor: “the Boss”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Recently named one of the world’s most influential Jews, Moshe Kantor (b. 1953) serves as president of the European Jewish Congress and World Holocaust Forum. The owner of Akron, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, he is on Forbes’ list of self-made billionaires. Meanwhile, Eric Cantor (b. 1963) is the current House Majority Leader in the U.S. Congress, making him the highest-ranking Jew in American political history. He’s been representing Virginia for over 10 years, and in recent months has pushed a bill to cut all aid to the Palestinian Authority. He is marked as a potential vice-president in next year’s elections. He’s already been shot at.

Words of the Week

If one walnut is removed from a pile, each and every other nut is shaken and disturbed. So too, when a single Jew is in distress, every other Jew is shaken.
– Midrash Shir HaShirim Raba 6:11

 

This Week in History

July 15, 1834: the Spanish Inquisition is abolished by the Queen Mother Maria Christina. However, practicing Judaism in Spain was still officially forbidden until 1967.