Daniel Morton Ziff (born 1973) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

heir, and the youngest son of publishing magnate

William Bernard Ziff, Jr. William Bernard "Bill" Ziff Jr. (June 24, 1930 – September 9, 2006) was an American publishing executive. His father, William Bernard Ziff Sr., was the co-founder of Ziff Davis Inc. and when the elder Ziff died in 1953, Ziff took over the mana ...

and grandson of

William Bernard Ziff Sr. William Bernard Ziff Sr. (August 1, 1898 – December 20, 1953) was an American publishing executive and author. Early life By 1916, Ziff was working as an artist. He would later go on to serve as an aviator in World War I. Ziff Davis Inc. ...

He and his two brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$5 billion.

Early life

Ziff was born in 1973. His mother was Barbara Ingrid Beitz, an ethnic German whose parents were declared as "

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

" for providing refuge and risking their lives to save Jews during World War II. His father was the Jewish American media magnate William Ziff Jr, who had built the Ziff-Davis magazine empire founded by William Bernard Ziff Sr. that included titles such as

Popular Aviation Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related service ...

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

, and

Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published in 1955. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased it from its prior owner Hachette Fi ...

.New York Times: "For Ziffs, Sale Is a Family Affair" by Geraldine Fabrikant
June 11, 1994 In 1989, Ziff graduated from the Trinity School in New York City where his father served as trustee. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1996.

Career

Ziff and his brothers

Dirk Edward Ziff Dirk Edward Ziff (born 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, the eldest son of publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff Jr. and grandson of William Bernard Ziff Sr. He and his two brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994. Early life ...

and

Robert D. Ziff Robert D. Ziff (born 1967) is an American billionaire, and the middle son of publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff Jr. and grandson of William Bernard Ziff Sr. He and his two brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994. Early life and educa ...

inherited the family fortune in 1994 after their father sold 95% of the business to

Forstmann Little Forstmann, Little & Company was an American private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer fro ...

for $1.4 billion and retired. The father had originally wanted to pass the company on to his sons but they were not interested. Instead, they formed New York City-based Ziff Brothers Investments, investing their inheritances broadly across equities, debt, real estate, commodities, private equity and hedge funds. They also provided seed money to fund manager

Daniel Och Daniel Och (born 27 January 1961) is an American billionaire Hedge fund, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman and former CEO of Och-Ziff Capital Management, a global hedge fund and alternative asset management ...

in exchange for a 10% stake in

Och-Ziff Capital Management Sculptor Capital Management (formerly ''Och-Ziff Capital Management Group'') is an American global diversified alternative asset management firm. They are one of the largest institutional alternative asset managers in the world. The company oper ...

which went public in 2007. The brothers dissolved Ziff Brothers Investments in 2014 and now invest independently. Ziff was - according Rob Goldstone - funding democrats while at the same time an architect of the

Magnitsky Act The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...

Personal life

In 2009, Ziff married Leslie, who he later divorced, who serves on the boards of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

and Rosie's Theater Kids. In 2017, he married Brianne Garcia Ziff, who he later divorced. He recently married Christina Ziff. He has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziff, Daniel M. 1973 births Living people American billionaires American people of German descent American people of Jewish descent Businesspeople from New York City Daniel M. Columbia College (New York) alumni