Jules Lederer (1917–1999) was an American business executive and innovator.

Early life

Born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, he dropped out of school in ninth grade, having to work from the time he was 13 to support his family. He made his living as a salesman.

Career

In the 1950s, Lederer was president of the

Autopoint Company The Autopoint Company was a manufacturer of pencils and desk top accessories in Chicago for about 50 years from the 1920s to around 1970. History Autopoint was founded by Frank C. Deli, Michael M. Kaufmann, and John P. Lynn around 1920. Th ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and in 1960, he joined Morris Mirkin, who founded

Budget Rent a Car Budget Rent a Car System, Inc. is an American car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin. Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Budget Group, with its operations headquartered in Parsippany, New Jerse ...

company in 1958. The pair incorporated as Budget Rent a Car Corporation in 1960. Budget Rent a Car is now a unit of

Avis Budget Group Avis Budget Group, Inc. is an American car rental agency holding company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is the parent company of several brands including Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental ...

. Budget Rent a Car became popular in its early days by renting cars at lower prices than its competitors, and it gained a following among a growing business and leisure travel market by renting cars from offices outside of airports. Additionally, Lederer is credited as one of the first to apply franchising to the rental car industry.

Personal life

In 1938, Lederer married Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman in 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 ...

ceremony in

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. They had one daughter, Margo Howard (ex-wife of actor

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...

), before divorcing in 1975. According to his ''

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 ...

'' obituary of January 23, 1999, Lederer was selling hats at T. S. Martin Department Store in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, when he met Friedman, who was engaged to another man; she and her identical twin sister Pauline Esther "Popo" were shopping for bridal veils for their double wedding. Jules and Esther fell in love and were married in a double ceremony. The two sisters would eventually become the writers of the widely syndicated advice columns, ''

Ask Ann Landers Ann Landers was a pen name created by ''Chicago Sun-Times'' advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer in 1955. For 56 years, the ''Ask Ann Landers'' syndicated advice column was a regular featur ...

'' and ''

Dear Abby ''Dear Abby'' is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. History According to Pau ...

'', respectively. Lederer's daughter Margo also became a newspaper columnist, writing for the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

''. Married for 36 years, when the Lederers were divorced, Ann Landers described it in her next column as "one of the best marriages that didn't make it to the finish line." Lederer later moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he remarried and had a daughter, Anthea Lederer, with his second wife, Elizabeth.

Death

Lederer died of a heart attack at his home in London, aged 81. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth; his daughters, Margo Lederer Howard and Anthea Lederer; a brother, Sol; a sister, Madelyn Ferris; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

References

20th-century American Jews Businesspeople from Chicago 1999 deaths 1917 births 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub