Edgar M. Cullman (January 7, 1918 – August 28, 2011) was an American businessman who served as President and CEO of

General Cigar Company General Cigar Company is the largest manufacturer of premium cigars in the world. It is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group with North American headquarters located in Richmond, Virginia. Company history In 1961 General Cigar, which was ...

and is credited with transforming the image of cigars.

Biography

Edgar Meyer Cullman 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 on January 7, 1918, the son of the son of Francis Nathan Wolff and Joseph Cullman Jr. He comes from a family that was deeply involved in the tobacco business. His great-grandfather was the wine and tobacco merchant Ferdinand Kullman who emigrated to the United States in 1848. His grandfather and uncle, Joseph and Jacob, founded the tobacco brokerage house Cullman Brothers in 1892. His father owned farmland in the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

that grew the tobacco used for cigar wrappers. In 1929, his father purchased the Webster Tobacco Company after the 1929 stock market collapse and in 1941, his father and uncle,

Howard S. Cullman Howard S. Cullman (September 23, 1891 – June 29, 1972) was an American civil servant, philanthropist, theatrical investor, and political organizer. He served on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 42 years—acting as ...

, founded the investment company Cullman Brothers Incorporated to purchase

Benson & Hedges Benson & Hedges is a British brand of cigarettes owned by American conglomerate Altria. Cigarettes under the ''Benson & Hedges'' name are manufactured worldwide by different companies such as Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris USA, British ...

. He had two brothers: Joseph Frederick Cullman III, who served as chairman and CEO of Philip Morris; and Lewis B. Cullman (married to

Dorothy Cullman Dorothy Cullman (February 18, 1918 – April 6, 2009) was an American television producer and philanthropist. She and her husband, Lewis B. Cullman (January 26, 1919 – June 7, 2019), contributed a combined $250 million to numerous organization ...

), known as the "father of the leveraged buyout." Quo Vadis former 2024 jeh

In 1940, Cullman earned a B.A. in economics from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1940. After school, his father secured him an entry-level job hand-rolling cigars at H. Anton Bock in Manhattan. In 1961, Cullman and a group of investors bought for $25 million a controlling interest in then the 2nd-largest cigar producer in the United States, New-York-based

which owned the brands White Owl, Tiparillo, Tijuana Smalls, and Macanudo. In 1962, he was elected president and CEO of General Cigar; he grew sales at the company from $70 million and 11% market share in 1963 to $220 million in 1967. General Cigar benefited from the switch of many tobacco consumers from cigarettes to cigars propelled by a 1964 surgeon general's report that demonstrated a link between cigarette smoking and cancer; and introduced smaller and milder cigars to attract cigarette smokers and the young market. In 1976, the company's name was changed to Culbro Corporation and he diversified the company into snack foods, Ex-Lax, packaging, real estate, and in 1996, opened the cigar club Club Macanudo in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 1981, he retired as president but remained as CEO until 2005 when the company was sold to

Swedish Match Swedish Match AB is a Swedish multinational tobacco company headquartered in Stockholm. It has been owned by the American Philip Morris International since 2022. The company manufactures snus, nicotine pouches, moist snuff, tobacco- and nicotine ...

. He died on August 28, 2011, in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, aged 93.

Personal life

In 1938, he married Louise Bloomingdale (1919–2014), granddaughter of

Lyman Bloomingdale Lyman Gustave Bloomingdale (February 11, 1841 – October 13, 1905) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for retail, and in April 1872, with his brother Joseph, founded department store chain Bloomingdale's Inc. on 59 ...

; they had three children, Edgar Cullman Jr., Lucy Cullman Danziger, and Susan Cullman Kirby (married to attorney John Kirby). His son Edgar is married to interior designer Elissa Cullman, daughter of restaurateur Sol Forman who owned

Peter Luger Steak House Peter Luger Steak House is a steakhouse located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York City, with a second location in Great Neck, New York, in the western part of Long Island. It was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of " ...

and whose siblings still own and operate the restaurant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullman, Edgar M. 1918 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American tobacco industry executives Businesspeople from New York City Place of birth missing Philanthropists from New York (state) Cullman family Bloomingdale family 20th-century American philanthropists