Lester Crown (born June 7, 1925) is an American businessman and is the son of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

financier Henry Crown (died 1990), who created the Material Service Corporation with two brothers in 1919, which merged with

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

in 1959. Crown has been a perennial member of the

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

list since 1982. He controls family holdings, including large stakes in

Maytag The Maytag Corporation is an American Home appliance, home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessm ...

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...

, Alltel, Aspen Skiing Company, New York's

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

, and pro basketball's

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. He also holds a 13% stake in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, an increase from 10% when he was an original limited partner with

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

's investment group in 1973. Presumably, the large stake held in Bank One at the time of the 2003 Forbes 400 listing has converted to

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

stock and was derived from an interest in First Chicago Bank, which was enumerated in the 1998 Forbes 400 list as First Chicago NBD shares. Recent achievements include brokering a controversial agreement to expand

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

, and spearheading the funding of the new

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

(Stroger Hospital). He is the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Commercial Club of Chicago and Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Early life

Born in Chicago on June 7, 1925, Crown is the son of Rebecca (née Kranz) and Henry Crown and was raised in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. He is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. During high school, he worked at the family business, Material Service Corporation (merged into

in 1959). His mother died in 1943. Crown received a B.S. in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1946 and an M.B.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1949.

Career

He was President of Marblehead Lime Co as well as the president of Royal Crown RC Cola from 1956 to 1966. During the 1950s, the Crown family had a controlling interest in New York's

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

. He has served as the president and chair of

. He was President of Henry Crown & Co. from 1969 to 2002,then Chairman until 2018. He is a former director of Continental Illinois bank,

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

, and Esmark. In the 1980s, he gradually took over the family business, Henry Crown & Co., from his father.

Affiliations

Affiliations include: Trusteeship of Northwestern University, the Aspen Institute and the Michael Reese Health Trust. Crown is on the Board of Directors of Lyric Opera and Children's Memorial Hospital, and the America Abroad Media advisory board. He is a member of Lake Shore Country Club, Northmoor Country Club, Standard Club, Economic Club of Chicago, and Northwestern University's John Evans Club. He is a Deputy Chair of the International Board of the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

in Israel and a member of the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

's Board of Governors. Crown is also involved with The Crown Center for Middle East Studies at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. He donated the initial $10 million gift that started the center in 2005. He and the rest of his family are involved with the Crown Fellows program in American history at Brandeis, as well. With his wife Renee Helene Schine Crown, he funded the honors program at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. In 1984, Renee Schine made a $2,500,000 contribution to Syracuse University for the Schine Student Center, which opened in October 1985.

Political views

In a 2008 letter to voters Crown expressed his support for Barack Obama, the Democratic Presidential Candidate:

While my involvement in politics is motivated by a variety of issues, there is one issue that is fundamental: My deep commitment to Israel and to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship that strengthens both Israel's security and its efforts to seek peace," Crown wrote. "I am writing to share with you my confidence that Senator Barack Obama's stellar record on Israel gives me great comfort that, as President, he will be the friend to Israel that we all want to see in the White House - stalwart in his defense of Israel's security, and committed to helping Israel achieve peace with its neighbors."

In April 2013 Crown was one of 100 prominent American Jews who signed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

urging him to "work closely" with Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

"to devise pragmatic initiatives, consistent with Israel's security needs, which would represent Israel's readiness to make painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace."Hareetz: "100 American Jewish leaders urge Netanyahu to show readiness to make 'painful territorial sacrifices'" by Chemi Shalev
April 3, 2013

Awards

Crown received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

in 1989. He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 1999 in the area of Business and Social Service. Crown, alongside his wife, received the Blessed are the Peacemakers Award from Catholic Theological Union in 2012.

Personal life

In 1950, he married Renée Schine at the Waldorf Astoria. His wife is the sister of producer G. David Schine and daughter of theater and hotel magnate, Junius Myer Schine. They have seven children: A. Steven Crown, James Crown, Patricia Crown, Susan Crown Kunkler, Daniel Crown, Sara Crown Star, and Janet Crown Peterson. Their son James (1953–2023) succeeded him as the President and Chairman of Henry Crown & Co.Crain's Chicago Business: "Crown family"
October 15, 2005 A daughter, Janet, is founder and owner of Burn 60 Fitness Studios and is divorced from celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson. Among his seven children are board members of several major cultural institutions. Another daughter,

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

, is chairwoman of the Shoah Foundation. Together the family's net worth exceeds ten billion dollars, as of December 2020.

References

External links

Forbes World's Richest People
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown, Lester 1925 births Living people American Zionists American billionaires American businesspeople American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists Chicago Bulls owners Crown Family General Dynamics People from Wilmette, Illinois Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Harvard Business School alumni New York Yankees owners Northwestern University trustees