Marion Osher Sandler (October 17, 1930 – June 1, 2012) was the co-CEO (with her husband Herbert Sandler) of Golden West Financial Corporation and World Savings Bank. In 2004, after 43 years running Golden West Financial Corporation, she was described by the

Columbia School of Journalism Columbia most often refers to: * Columbia (personification), the historical personification of the United States * Columbia University, a private university in New York City * Columbia Pictures, an American film studio owned by Sony Pictures * ...

as "the first and longest-serving woman chief executive officer in the

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Early life

Born Marion Osher in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...

Zweigenhaft, Richard L., and Domhoff, G. William. ''The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies'' Published: 2014-03-18 Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publisher
p 16
/ref> on October 17, 1930, to Samuel and Leah Osher,

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 ...

immigrants from Lithuania and Russia.Los Angeles Times: "Marion Sandler dies at 81; World Savings Bank executive" By E. Scott Reckard
June 5, 2012 Her parents owned a hardware store and were successful in real estate. Her brother is Bernard Osher. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1952 and an MBA from

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in 1958. She worked for two years as a buyer at

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

before landing a job on Wall Street, as a securities analyst at Dominick & Dominick. She was the first woman hired by the firm who was not a receptionist.

Career

In 1963, with $3.8 million in funding from her brother, Bernard, who was a successful businessman, she and her husband created a holding company, Golden West Financial Corporation, and acquired Golden West Savings and Loan Association (renamed the World Savings Bank) in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. At the time it was a small institution with one branch. The Sandlers tried new products, and Golden West became the first institution to offer

adjustable rate mortgage A variable-rate mortgage, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), or tracker mortgage is a mortgage loan with the interest rate on the note periodically adjusted based on an index which reflects the cost to the lender of borrowing on the credit markets.W ...

s. Golden West grew into one of the largest thrifts in the U.S. with assets of approximately $125 billion, deposits of $60 billion, and 12,000 employees. Under the Sandlers' management, Golden West generated a 19 percent average annual compound growth in earnings per share over a 39-year period. The company was described as "one of the most efficient and productive money machines on the planet", and was included 10 times in ''Fortune'' magazine's annual list of the United States' most admired companies. The Sandlers were also named "2004 CEOs of the Year" by Morningstar, Inc. Golden West was sold in October 2006 for $24 billion to

Wachovia Bank Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

. The Sandlers owned about 10% of the company at the time of the sale, making their share of the sale price worth $2.4 billion. Of this the Sandlers gave $1.3 billion to the

Sandler Foundation Sandler Foundation is a charitable foundation formed in 1991 with support from Herbert Sandler and Marion Sandler, co-CEOs of Golden West Financial Corporation and World Savings Bank. In 2006, the Sandlers made a contribution of $1.3 billion to t ...

Philanthropy

The Sandlers helped found and are among the largest benefactors of the

Center for Responsible Lending The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a nonprofit organization research and policy group based in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Its stated purpose is to educate the public about financial products and to push for policies that curb ...

, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization fighting predatory mortgage lending,

payday loan A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. These loans are typically designed to cover ...

s, and other products that prey on consumers; the

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, a progressive think tank;

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, an investigative reporting newsroom; and the American Asthma Foundation. In addition, the Sandlers or their foundation support organizations involved in medical research, the environment, human rights, and civil liberties.

Personal life

In 1961, she married Herbert Sandler. They had two children, Susan Sandler and James Sandler.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandler, Marion 1930 births 2012 deaths American bankers American billionaires American chief executives of financial services companies American women bankers American women chief executives Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area 21st-century American philanthropists Stern College for Women alumni Wellesley College alumni 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women