Isadore "Issy" Sharp, (born October 8, 1931) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

hotelier and writer. He is founder and chairman of

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...

Early life and education

Sharp was born in Toronto, the son of

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

immigrants. His father, Max, a devout

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

scholar, was a Polish Jew who emigrated from Poland to Palestine in 1920, and finally to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

five years later. He worked as a plasterer until his family began to grow with the arrival of Issy and three daughters. His father's expertise was in home renovation and he often renovated homes and resold them for a profit as a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

investor. During the summers, Sharp would obtain experience in the construction business by working for his father. He excelled in sports during his high school years. In 1952, he graduated with high marks from Ryerson Institute of Technology (now

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

) with a diploma in architectural technology."How the Founder of Four Seasons Stumbled Into the Hotel Business"
''Fortune'' magazine, March 29, 2016

Career

After graduating from Ryerson, Sharp went to work for his father's company full-time as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...

, building apartment buildings and houses. It was his work building a small 22-unit

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

(Motel 27) on the outskirts of Toronto for family friend, Jack Gould, that was his introduction to the

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

business. He founded the Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 and opened the first hotel on

Jarvis Street Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment s ...

in downtown Toronto in 1961. On November 6, 2006, American business magnate

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, through his

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

Cascade Investments LLC Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson. More than half of Gates's fortune is hel ...

, and Saudi businessman, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal through his company Kingdom Holding Company made an offer to take Four Seasons Hotels private for US$3.4 billion (excluding debt). Sharp would remain chairman and chief executive of the company. He also would be able to realize proceeds from a 1989 incentive plan that would pay him $288 million; the company's headquarters would remain in Toronto.

Philanthropy

Sharp helped start and is the director of the

Terry Fox Run The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Sh ...

. He first met

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...

when the latter arrived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in June 1980 during his trek across the country to raise money for

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

. Sharp invited Fox to rest in one of the city's Four Seasons hotels for a week before resuming his run, helped pay for his

cancer treatment Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. ...

, and later pledged to contribute to research funds on his behalf. Sharp and his wife are prominent

philanthropists, having made significant donations to many sources including the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift f ...

, the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Sharps are spearheading a proposal to build a

Jewish Museum of Canada The Jewish Museum of Canada is a proposed museum to be built in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by a partnership of the family of Rosalie and Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greate ...

in Toronto and have pledged $20 million towards the project, towards a total fundraising goal of $150 million. The museum is to feature three themed galleries with artifact and multimedia-based interactives and three immersive environments entitled: Jewish Experience, Jewish Life in Canada and The Neuberger

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Education Centre.

Personal life

Sharp married his high school sweetheart, Rosalie Wise who was also of Jewish descent. They had four sons, Jordan, Gregory, Anthony, and Christopher. Christopher, the only one who evinced an interest in going into the family business, died of melanoma in 1978. His death at least partly inspired Sharp to support Fox financially during his run. A Ty

Beanie Baby Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, m ...

named

Issy Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

was produced in 2001 in Christopher's memory. All proceeds from American sales went to

Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute� ...

in New York, while all Canadian proceeds went to the Terry Fox Foundation. Sharp had a net worth of

Can$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...

540 million in 2009. In 2009, Sharp summarized his experience and business philosophy in a book ''Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy'', published by

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Canada. In 2011, a documentary about Sharp's life and achievements, ''The Four Seasons of Isadore Sharp'', aired on

City TV Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television As ...

Directorships

* Honorary Director Scotiabank * Director of Clairvest Group, Inc. * Director of the National

* Director of Canadian Unity Council * Governor of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews * Honorary Officer of the Board of Directors

Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) is a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mount Sinai is part of Sinai Health. Sinai Health was formed through the voluntary amalgamation of Mount Sinai Hospital (including the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute) ...

Honours

* In 2022, he was recognized by the International Hospitality Institute on the Global 100 in Hospitality list, featuring the 100 Most Powerful People in Global. * In 2011 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Luxury Travel Mart * In 2010 was inducted into the Hall of Leaders by the US Travel Association * In 2009 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

* In 2009 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Fund * In 2008 was named a Companion to the Order from the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

(first inducted in 1998) * In 2008 was awarded the Visionary Awards from the Marketing Hall of Legends * In 2006 was awarded the Business Leader Award from the Ivey Alumni Association/Toronto * In 2005 was awarded the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Toronto Chapter * In 2005 was awarded the Honorary Associate Award from The

Conference Board of Canada The Conference Board of Canada is a Canadian not-for-profit think tank dedicated to researching and analyzing economic trends, as well as organizational performance and public policy issues. Describing itself as "objective" and "non-partisan", th ...

* In 2005 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Lodging Investment Summit * In 2005 was named a Canadian Hotel Industry Icon by the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference * In 2003 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program * In 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree from

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Tor ...

* In 1999 was awarded the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by I.H. Asper School of Business of the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

* In 1993 was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

* In 1992 was named CEO of the Year by the

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new ''National Post'',"Black says Post to merge with new paper". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 23, ...

Magazine * In 1992 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

* In 1983 he was Ruth Hartman Frankel Humanitarian Award for his support of

and the subsequent

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Isadore 1931 births Living people Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian architects Canadian business writers Canadian chief executives Canadian hoteliers Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian philanthropists Canadian real estate businesspeople Jewish architects Jewish Canadian philanthropists Jewish Canadian writers Officers of the Order of Canada Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Writers from Toronto