Lewis Katz (January 11, 1942May 31, 2014) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, who was a co-owner of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

''.

Early life

Katz was born to a Jewish familyJewish Exponent: "Philanthropist Is Co-Owner of Papers"
April 4, 2012 in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

, on January 11, 1942, and grew up in the Parkside section of the city. He was raised along with his sister, Sandra Katz (Wolff) by their mother, a secretary at

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, after their father died when they were very young.

Career

He became a lawyer and businessman, making millions in parking lots, billboards and sports. Katz was a former owner of Kinney Parking Systems, at the time the largest parking company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and the former chairman of Interstate Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest regional outdoor-advertising firms in the country. He was the majority owner of five radio stations in Atlantic and Cape May counties at the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

, and a founding partner of the law firm Katz, Ettin & Levine in Cherry Hill.

Sports ownership

Katz invested in the two New Jersey sports teams back in 2000. He was part of the YankeeNets/Puck Holdings group along with Ray Chambers. The group purchased the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

from their original owner Dr. John McMullen. Katz's ownership involvement of both teams ended in 2003 when the YankeeNets group disintegrated with the Devils being sold to

Jeffrey Vanderbeek Jeffrey "Jeff" Vanderbeek (born 1958) is the former owner of the New Jersey Devils, a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League. Vanderbeek, a New Jersey native and Devils season ticket holder since the late 1980s, bought a minorit ...

and the Nets sold to

Bruce Ratner Bruce Ratner (born January 23, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American philanthropist, real estate developer, and former minority owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Family and education Ratner was born into a Jewish family in the Cleveland metro ...

. The Devils have since been sold again while the Nets were also sold and moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Philanthropy

He was the director of the Katz Foundation, which supports charitable, educational and medical causes. To support pioneering medical research, Katz established an annual prize and endowed a visiting professorship in cardiovascular research at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he served on the board of visitors of the medical school. His $15 million gift to The Dickinson Schools of Law of The

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

helped fund the renovation of historic Trickett Hall at Dickinson Law in Carlisle, PA, and fund the development of a law school building for

Penn State Law Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, is one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B. ...

in University Park, PA, both of which bear his name. As a native of

, Katz established several programs to help Camden children. Katz donated to Jewish organizations, focused on young Jewish entrepreneurs. Katz was a donor to the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, Congregation Beth El in Voorhees, New Jersey, and the

National Museum of American Jewish History The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976. History With ...

Personal life and death

In 1966, Katz married Marjorie Nemarow; they had a son, Drew Katz, and a daughter, Melissa Katz. His wife died in 2013. On May 31, 2014, Katz and six others died when a chartered airplane crashed on takeoff at

Hanscom Field Laurence G. Hanscom Field , commonly known as Hanscom Field, is a public use airport operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, located outside Boston in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Hanscom is mainly a general aviation airport, ...

and burst into flames. An FAA spokesperson said that the

Gulfstream IV The Gulfstream IV (or G-IV or GIV) and derivatives are a family of twinjet aircraft, mainly for private or business use. They were designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United Stat ...

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...

apparently ran off Runway 11 as the aircraft was departing for

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, failing to become airborne because the

gust lock A gust lock on an aircraft is a mechanism that locks control surfaces and keeps open aircraft doors in place while the aircraft is parked on the ground and non-operational. Gust locks prevent wind from causing unexpected movements of the control ...

was left engaged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Lewis 1942 births 2014 deaths Accidental deaths in Massachusetts American education businesspeople American mass media owners American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from New Jersey Dickinson College alumni Jewish American philanthropists New Jersey Devils executives New Jersey lawyers New Jersey Nets owners People from Camden, New Jersey Temple University alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2014 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews