Stanley Phillip Gold (born September 10, 1942) is the former president and CEO of Shamrock Holdings,

Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney Order of St. Gregory the Great, KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which was founded by his uncle, Walt Disney, and his ...

's private investment company, from 1985 to 2013, and is currently serving as chairman of its

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. He was on the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

board, in 1984 and during 1987–2003. He and Roy resigned to publicly campaign for the ousting of then-CEO and

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 ...

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...

. He had also helped to both oust former CEO Ron W. Miller, and hire Eisner, in 1984. He is a past chairman of the

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, and of the University of Southern California Law School, and has been a significant political contributor.

Early life and education

Gold was born to a

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 ...

familyIsrael Policy Forum: "Prominent US Jews Support Two States, Urge Abbas to Set Positive Tone"
September 25, 2013 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 ...

. He grew up in South Los Angeles, near Dorsey High School. The family moved to the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

when he was a teenager. After graduation from Van Nuys High School, he entered

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. There, he dated his future wife, Ilene. He completed an A.B. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at U.C.L.A. and, in 1967, earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, then completed

post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

work at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Career

He practiced law, with Martin Gang, at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

, from 1968, later becoming its managing partner. He specialized in

corporate acquisition Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

s, sales and financing. He has served as president of Shamrock Broadcasting; president, then chairman, of Central Soya; chairman of Enterra Corporation, chairman of Israeli investment firm Koor Industries Ltd. (), and chairman of Tadiran, among other positions.

Philanthropy

At a banquet honoring U.S. Ambassador John Marshall Evans, on 4 March 2007; Gold pledged $100,000 to the USC Institute of Armenian Studies. In 2001, he pledged $500,000 to establish the Martin Gang Scholarship Fund at

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

; Roy and Patty Disney pledged an additional $100,000. Gold was a fund raiser and donor for

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

's successful campaign in the 1999 Israeli prime ministerial election. Gold has been a contributor to American federal political campaigns for many years, largely contributing to Democrats, both candidates and organizations, such as the (

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in ...

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. Its purpose is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of Ne ...

, and

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

); Gold has also donated to some Republican party candidates, including

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, Robert Dole,

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar ( ; April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

, William Weld, and

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

reported donations of $238,000 during 1993 to 17 December 2008, including a few non-federal contributions. He is a supporter of the

Two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

in the Middle East. In April 2013, Gold was one of 100 prominent American Jews who sent 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

Memberships

* Sigma Alpha Mu * Wilshire Boulevard Temple, past board member *

, chairman of the

; mentor to

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth na ...

, Steven B. Sample

Personal life

Among the artifacts displayed in his study at

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

are personalized autographs from both

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

and

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent ...

. He collects

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

automobiles.

References

External links

Shamrock's Stanley Gold bioSEC's bio of Stanley GoldForbes.com profile of Stanley P. GoldBusiness Week profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Stanley 1942 births Living people American philanthropists American chief executives of financial services companies Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California California Democrats California lawyers Van Nuys High School alumni Lawyers from Los Angeles University of California, Berkeley alumni USC Gould School of Law alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American Jews Jews from California