Serge Semenenko (1903 – April 24, 1980) was a prominent member of the so-called "White Russian" emigre community that fled Bolshevism and revolution, achieving success as a Hollywood banker in the 1950s and 1960s through his affiliation with the First National Bank of Boston. His is remembered as a gracious and generous philanthropist. His most notable gift was an elegant Park Avenue mansion in the northern reaches of Manhattan's Upper east Side, presented to the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1958. He was born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

(then part of Imperial Russia) on August 26, 1903 and fled with his family to Constantinople (now

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) at the age of 18. There he studied studied at both Classical College and Robert College and graduated with a GPA of 8.5 out of 10. He then moved to the United States to continue his studies at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. In 1956 he was part of a group of investors who bought out the shares in Warner Bros. Pictures that were sold by Harry Warner and Albert Warner. The Warners bought the Brunswick label in 1930, but the collapse of the record market during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

cost the studio heavily and the label was sold to the

American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company in operation from 1929 to 1938, and again from 1978 to 1982. Overview ARC was crea ...

at the end of 1931 for a fraction of its former value. As a result, Warner Bros. had shied away from any involvement in the record business for the next 25 years. According to music historian Fred Goodman, Semenenko had a strong interest in the entertainment business. After joining the Warner Bros. board he pushed studio boss

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...

to establish a recorded music division, which was eventually incorporated in 1958 as Warner Bros. Records. Semenenko put together a syndicate of six banks in 1963 to help a troubled Curtis Publishing Company. In 1967, he resigned as vice-chairman and a director of First Boston after his activities were dissected in a first article in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''.McClintick, David. ''Indecent Exposure: A True Story of Hollywood and Wall Street'' (Collins Business Essentials)

Notes

1903 births 1980 deaths American bankers American investors Businesspeople from Odesa 20th-century American businesspeople Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Robert College alumni Harvard Business School alumni Warner Bros. people {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub