Sim Daniel Abraham (born August 15, 1924) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder of Thompson Medical, whose main product is Slim-Fast, a diet program. He has endowed the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and he supports Jewish causes in Florida and Israel. As of October 2018, he had a net worth of $2.1

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

Early life

Abraham was born on August 15, 1924, the son of Stella K. and Dr. Samuel Abraham. He was raised in an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

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 ...

home in Long Beach, New York. His father was a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

and follower of

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...

; and Abraham as a teen printed his own newsletter warning Americans about the danger from the Nazis. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Abraham served in the United States Army in Europe. In 1970, he moved to Israel with his wife and children where he lived through the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

and returned to the United States in 1978.

Career

Abraham founded Thompson Medical, which introduced the Slim-Fast line of diet products in the late 1970s. Abraham made Thompson Medical private in 1988;

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

acquired Slim-Fast for $2.3 billion in 2000. As of October 2016, he had an estimated wealth of US$2.1 billion. Abraham is the author of the book '' Peace is Possible'', with a foreword by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. Abraham also published his memoirs in 2010, entitled ''Everything is Possible: Life and Business Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire and the Founder of Slim Fast''.

Philanthropy

Abraham founded the Center for Middle East Peace in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Through personal friendship with leaders in the United States, Israel, and throughout the Middle East, he has worked over the past two decades to help bring an end to the Arab/Israeli conflict. He is a major sponsor of the Washington-based

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...

. Abraham endowed an S. Daniel Abraham Chair in Middle East Policy Studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and a Chair in Nutritional Medicine at Harvard University Medical School. He has endowed the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and th
S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies
at Tel Aviv University. He funded the Dan Abraham School for Business Administration and Economics at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

in Israel, and the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, and Honors Program at

Stern College for Women The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides progra ...

. He holds honorary doctorates from the

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

and

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

. He is also the founder of the New Synagogue of Palm Beach. His gift to the Mayo Clinic served to create the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, whose opening in 2007 received national media coverage. The

Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school, a college preparatory high school for grades 9–12, located in Hewlett Bay Park in Nassau County, New York, United States. The school is part of the Hebrew Acad ...

was dedicated in honor of his mother. He is a founding member of the New Synagogue of Palm Beach.

Political contributions

Abraham is a long-time donor to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and the Clinton Foundation. He gave $1.5 million to the party and ranked as the number one contributor of

soft money The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees, and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has risen ...

to the national parties in 2000. Abraham donated $3 million to

Priorities USA Action Priorities USA Action is a progressive political action committee and is the largest Democratic Party super PAC. Founded in 2011, it supported Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. It was the primary super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton' ...

, a super PAC which supported

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. In 2020 he's donated $5 million to Democratic aligned Super PACs, including

American Bridge 21st Century American Bridge 21st Century or AB PAC is a liberal American Super PAC that supports Democratic candidates and opposes Republican candidates. It was founded by David Brock in 2010 and is associated with Media Matters for America. It is an opp ...

, House Majority PAC, and Senate Majority PAC.

Personal life

Abraham is divorced from his first wife, Estanne Weiner; they have four daughters: Rebecca, Simmi, Leah, and Tammy. He resides in Palm Beach, Florida. Abraham is currently married to Ewa Sebzda, with whom he has two children, Sarah and Sam. He has 27 grandchildren and MANY great-grandchildrenhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/abraham-s-daniel-1924

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, S. Daniel 1924 births Living people American billionaires American health care businesspeople American Orthodox Jews Businesspeople from New York (state) Jewish American philanthropists New York (state) Democrats People from Long Beach, New York People from Palm Beach, Florida Philanthropists from New York (state) Military personnel from New York (state) United States Army personnel of World War II 21st-century American Jews