Lewis L. Glucksman (December 22, 1925 – July 5, 2006) was a former
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 ...
trader and former chief executive officer and chairman of
Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc.
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 Merrill ...
Early life and education
Glucksman was born into a second generation
Hungarian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...
family that lived on the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
of
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 ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
He served as a teenage volunteer with the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
in
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 ...
.
Glucksman graduated from the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...
and later earned a Master's degree in business administration from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. The
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...
granted him an honorary
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 2002.
Career
Glucksman had a distinguished career on
Wall Street
Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
. He joined the staff of privately held Lehman Brothers in 1963. After rising from head of sales and trading at Lehman to co-CEO, Glucksman, described then as "gruff and tough" beat
Pete Peterson
Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane was ...
, a former
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
for control of the then-closely held firm in 1983, a battle documented in the 1986 book ''Greed and Glory on Wall Street'' by
Ken Auletta
Kenneth B. Auletta (born April 23, 1942) is an American author, a political columnist for the New York Daily News, and media critic for ''The New Yorker''.
Early life and education
The son of an Italian American father and a Jewish American mot ...
.
Shortly after Glucksman took control, however, the firm experienced a sharp drop in profits. That resulted in a forced sale by Lehman's partners to
American Express
American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
in 1984. American Express paid $360 million for the firm. Glucksman joined
Primerica Financial Services
Primerica, Inc. is a multi-level marketing company that provides insurance, investment and financial services to middle-income families in the United States and Canada.
Primerica is the parent company of National Benefit Life Insurance Comp ...
after Citigroup Inc. founder
Sanford Weill
Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill (; born March 16, 1933) is an American banker, financier, and philanthropy, philanthropist. He is a former chief executive and chairman of Citigroup. He served in those positions from 1998 until October 1, 2003, and April ...
acquired the company in 1988. He also served as Commissioner of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...
.
Ireland and philanthropy
He travelled to
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
frequently in his role as a trustee of
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
to promote academic relationships between Irish academia and NYU. He established a home in
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
,
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
in 1984 with his wife Loretta Brennan Glucksman and lived there from 1999.

Glucksman directed much of his philanthropy towards projects of benefit to the promotion of culture in Ireland. These included the transfer of the Coastal and Marine Research Centre from
UCC The initialism UCC may stand for:
Law
* Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion
* Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...
to waterfront premises at
Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational ...
; his patronage of the
Lewis Glucksman Gallery
The Glucksman, formerly known as the Lewis Glucksman Gallery (), is an art museum in University College Cork, Ireland.
Opened to the public by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese on 14 October 2004, the Glucksman was named 'Best Public B ...
at UCC and the Glucksman Chair of Literature and the Glucksman Library and Reading Room at the
University of Limerick
University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...
; his support for the Millennium Wing of the
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...
; his 1993 founding of Glucksman Ireland House at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
as a centre of Irish culture, language, literature and music; and his participation in
The Ireland Funds
The American Ireland Fund (DBA The Ireland Funds America), is a tax-exempt organization incorporated under the laws of the United States and has been determined by the IRS to be a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Cod ...
.
The Glucksman Institute for Research in Securities Markets (formed at
NYU Stern
The Leonard N. Stern School of Business (also NYU Stern, Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. Founded as the School of Commerce, Accounts a ...
) is endowed by a grant from Lewis Glucksman, Stern MBA '1951. It offers faculty and student grants to support research on equities, bonds, futures, options, and other financial instruments and on the markets where they are traded.
Personal life and death
In 1987, Glucksman married Loretta Brennan
an
Irish American
Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry.
Irish immigration to the United States
From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
.
[Irish America Hall of Fame 2012: "Loretta Brennan Glucksman"]
2012 She had three children from her first marriage.
Glucksman died at his home in
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
in 2006, aged 80. He was survived by his wife and his daughters Mary Salinger Glucksman and Jane Salinger Glucksman; and three stepchildren,
John Cooney, Christopher Cooney, and Kate Cooney Picco.
The Independent (Ireland): "Life marked by kindness, wisdom and generosity"
July 7, 2006
References
* (2006, July 7). ''Lewis Glucksman, 80; Lehman Bros. Trader Rose to Chief Executive''. The Los Angeles Times
External links
Lehman Brothers
Glucksman Institute for Research in Securities Markets
The Ireland Funds
The Glucksman Gallery
Glucksman Ireland House, New York University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glucksman, Lewis
1925 births
2006 deaths
Jewish American bankers
American bankers
Citigroup people
Philanthropists from New York (state)
Ireland Funds
Businesspeople from New York City
College of William & Mary alumni
American philanthropists
Lehman Brothers people
New York University Stern School of Business alumni