Ronald P. Stanton (March 26, 1928 – September 26, 2016) was an American businessman who founded Transammonia Inc (now Trammo, Inc).

Biography

Stanton was born Ronald Philip Steinberg 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

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on March 26, 1928, the son of Hedwig (née Kern) and Eric Steinberg. His parents divorced when he was one and he and his mother moved in with her parents. In 1937, he and his mother fled from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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 ...

. His paternal grandparents remained in Germany where they committed suicide in order to avoid being taken to the concentration camps. Stanton attended public schools and changed his surname to "Stanton" after high school. In 1950, he earned a B.A. from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. After his service, he went to work for the International Ore and Fertilizer Corporation eventually becoming executive vice president of the fertilizer trading division. In 1965, he left the company and founded his own specialized trading and distribution company then named Transammonia Inc. Trammo grew rapidly marketing, trading, distributing, and transporting ammonia, fertilizers,

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

es, petrochemicals, coal, sulfuric acid, and sulfur. By 2009, it was one of the largest privately owned companies in New York.

Philanthropy

Stanton typically donated anonymously. In 2008, he donated $25 million to

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

(the plaza at Lincoln Center is named Ronald P. Stanton Way). In 2006, he donated $100 million gift to Yeshiva University. He ultimately gave away $300 million during his life, mostly in New York. Stanton served on the boards of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, Lincoln Center,

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...

, and the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

Personal life

Stanton was married twice. His first wife was Ruth Schloss; they had one son, Oliver Stanton before divorcing. His second wife was Mei Wu; they had two children: Hedi Stanton and Philip Stanton before divorcing. Stanton was an art collector owning works by

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

, and

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Ronald 1928 births 2016 deaths American company founders 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews