Walter A. Haas Sr. (May 11, 1889 – December 7, 1979), was an American billionaire businessman who was the president and chairman of

Levi Strauss & Co Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

Early life and education

Haas was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, one of four children of Abraham Haas and Fanny Koshland.Jewish Museum of the American West: "Abraham Haas: Purveyer of Food Stuffs, Wholesale & Retail, Part 1, Los Angeles"
retrieved April 21, 2014 His father was an immigrant from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

who founded the Hellman, Haas and Company which eventually became the Smart & Final grocery store chain. His mother was the daughter of

Simon Koshland Simon Koshland (1825–1896) was a Kingdom of Bavaria-born American businessman, and wool merchant. He is the patriarch of the Koshland and Haas family of San Francisco.The Jews of San Francisco, by Martin A. Meyer, Ph.D., Emanu-El, San Francisc ...

, one of the most successful wool merchants in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

.Jewish Museum of the American West: "Abraham Haas: Purveyer of Food Stuffs, Wholesale & Retail, Part 2, Los Angeles"
retrieved April 21, 2014 His siblings were Charles, Ruth (1891), and Eleanor (1900). In 1910, Haas graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, where he was a member of the

Order of the Golden Bear The Order of the Golden Bear (the Order, OGB) is a prominent honor society at the University of California, Berkeley composed of students, faculty, and alumni committed to serving the University of California. Founded in 1900, the Order serves ...

.University of California Berkeley website: About Walter Haas
retrieved March 27, 2013 Haas served in the U.S. Army Field Artillery during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Career

Upon his return to the United States in 1919, he worked at the Levi Strauss & Company, then a small dry goods wholesaler and maker of work clothing, owned by the family of his wife. In 1928, he became president and served in that position until 1955; thereafter, he served as chairman until 1970 and remained active in company affairs until his death in 1979. Haas' tenure and dedication at Levi Strauss – along with that of his business partner and brother-in-law Daniel E. Koshland Sr. – is widely credited with "saving" the company, leading it through the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, racial integration at its factories, the global popularization of the Levi brand, and the creation of the Levi Strauss Foundation.

Politics and philanthropy

A Republican, he was an alternate delegate to the

1952 Republican National Convention The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 7 to 11, 1952, and nominated the popular general and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York, nicknamed "Ike," for president an ...

. He was

, and served as president of the San Francisco Jewish Welfare Federation.

Personal life

In 1914, Haas married Elise Stern, daughter of Sigmund Stern, the son of David Stern and the nephew of Levi Strauss (Strauss had died unmarried and without children and deeded his company to his four nephews).JWeekly: "Levi’s exec Walter A. Haas Jr. recalled for generosity" by Natalie Weinstein
September 29, 1995 Haas had three children:

Rhoda Haas Goldman Rhoda Haas Goldman (1924 – February 17, 1996) was an American billionaire philanthropist in San Francisco, California. Biography Goldman was the only daughter born to Walter A. Haas and Elise Stern (heiress to the Levi Strauss fortune); and ...

, Peter E. Haas, and

Walter A. Haas Jr. Walter A. Haas Jr. (January 24, 1916 – September 20, 1995) was President and CEO (1958–1976) and Chairman (1970–1981) of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas (1889–1979). He led the company in its growth from a region ...

San Francisco Gate: "The Haas Legacy / How one family's generosity and commitment to civic life are transforming the Bay Area" by Julian Guthrie
July 1, 2007 In 1989, the

Regents voted to rename the business school the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public universit ...

in his honor, after a large gift from the Haas family.

References

* ''Who's Who in America 1964'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Walter A. 1889 births 1979 deaths Jewish American philanthropists Businesspeople from California Haas School of Business alumni Haas family Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Levi Strauss & Co. people Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni Koshland family