Andrew A. Lanyi (May 27, 1925 – August 4, 2009) was a well renowned stock broker, analyst, World War II forced labourer, investor and author who became one of the most successful and well known stock brokers of the 20th century.

Biography

Lanyi 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 ...

family in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was forced to a work as a laborer building airfields for the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

before escaping from captivity. After the war, Lanyi worked as a director of plays in Budapest and then as a radio director where he was known as the "Ed Sullivan" of Hungarian radio. He and his pregnant wife fled to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

during the Hungarian Revolution wife and the couple applied for asylum in the United States. His application was granted and he moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and accepted a job with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

.'' He also sold mutual funds at night and later stocks to make ends meet; he initially focused on selling to Hungarian names in the phone book and honed his skills becoming one of the top cold-calling stockbrokers in the industry despite his thick Hungarian accent. Andrew started his career at Blythe Eastman Dillon and went on to work at

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1850. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merril ...

Ladenburg Thalmann Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services is a diversified financial services company with two primary business lines: independent brokerage and advisory and investment banking and capital markets. The company is engaged in investment banking, equit ...

and

Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often ...

. He retired as Executive Director of Investments of the Lanyi Group, his own group, at Oppenheimer and Co. Inc. in 2007. He was frequently interviewed for many financial publications, including Gene Marcial's Inside Wall Street column at BusinessWeek. Many of Andrew's alumni went on to achieve successful careers, including Cody Willard, former business anchor and co-host of Happy Hour on Fox Business.

Personal life

Lanyi married twice. He married Valerie Lanyi in Austria; they had two children: George (1957-1990), and Paul. They divorced in the 1990s. In 1993, he married Diane Bickoff. On August 4, 2009, he died from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

at his home in Manhattan. Services were held at

Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel is a funeral home located on Madison Avenue at 81st Street in Manhattan. Founded in 1898 as Frank E. Campbell Burial and Cremation Company, the company is now owned by Service Corporation International. Fran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanyi, Andrew 1925 births 2009 deaths Hungarian Jews Theatre people from Budapest American stockbrokers Eötvös Loránd University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Hungarian emigrants to the United States