Stewart Rahr
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Stewart J. Rahr is an American entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Rahr was the founder and owner of pharmaceutical and generics
wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
Kinray, the largest privately owned pharmaceutical distributor in the world until it was bought out by
Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals ...
in 2010. The sale made Rahr a billionaire.


Early life and career

Stewart Rahr was raised 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 ...
family in
Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...
section of
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York. As a youth, he worked at his father's retail pharmacy store in Brooklyn. In 1963, he graduated from
Poly Prep Country Day School Poly Prep Country Day School (commonly known as Poly Prep) is an independent, co-educational day school with two campuses in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The Middle School (5th to 8th grades) and Upper School (9th to 12th grades) are loc ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. He graduated with a B.A. 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 ...
and attended
New York University Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...
before dropping out to take over his family's pharmacy business, which then had $50,000 in sales. The business also served as a wholesaler for other pharmacies and Rahr focused on the wholesale side of the business. He expanded the business into a large operation named Kinray Inc. By 2010, Kinray served over 2,000 pharmacies in the Northeastern United States with revenues of over $5 billion. Rahr was able to grow the business through the stockpiling of pharmaceuticals and relied on drug price inflation to maximize his profit margin when he sold the extra inventory to retail pharmacies at a later date. This practice later became controversial due to consumer ethics issues. Pharmaceutical manufacturers now monitor their distributors to ensure that they do not hold more than one month's supply of any given drug. In 2010, Rahr sold Kinray to Cardinal Health for $1.3 billion. The sale made Rahr a "self-made billionaire". In 2020, Rahr ranked No. 359 on the
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
400 list of the richest people in America.


Philanthropy

In 2012, Rahr donated $640,000 to the Israel Cancer Research Fund, a source of private funds for cancer research in Israel. In late 2012, Rahr donated $100,000 to the
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
for
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
relief efforts. He also donated $50,000 to help repair the
Russian American Jewish Experience Gateways is an international organization whose self-declared mission is it to "raise Jewish consciousness." Origins Gateways was founded in 1998 by Rabbi Mordechai Suchard with the stated goal of "providing opportunities for Jews to unlock the tr ...
(RAJE) in
Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...
, which was also severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. In 2013, Rahr was named the largest individual donor to the Metro New York chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2013, Rahr donated $10 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the largest contribution in its history. In January 2014, Rahr sponsored the flight of 64 members of the
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
to the memorial service at
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
for
Holocaust Remembrance Day Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah (), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (, ) and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Je ...
. In February 2014, on a visit to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, Rahr donated money to provide new ambulances to
United Hatzalah United Hatzalah ("united rescue" in Hebrew: איחוד הצלה) is an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services (EMS) organization providing free service throughout Israel, with its headquarters based in Jerusalem. Its mission is to pro ...
, an organization dedicated to improving response time to those in medical need throughout Israel. Also in 2014, Rahr made a $500,000 donation to the North Shore Animal League America.


Political activity

Rahr contributed $250,000 to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's 2020 presidential campaign.


Personal life

In 1969, he married Carol K. Rahr. They had two children, Robert and Felicia. In 2012, they announced that they were divorcing. In 2013, Rahr agreed to pay Carol $250 million as a settlement. In November 2012, Rahr was banned from the restaurant
Nobu Nobu Hospitality, LLC is an American company founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro, and Meir Teper in partnerships with Drew Nieporent as an Operator with Myriad Restaurant Group. History In 1987, Nobu Matsuhisa moved to Los Angeles and ...
in New York. Rahr has an apartment in the
Trump Park Avenue Trump Park Avenue is a residential building on the southern border of Lenox Hill at 502 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. The 32-story building was designed by Goldner and Goldner in 1929. It now contains 120 luxury Condominium (living sp ...
building. In 2005, Rahr purchased a house in
The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
for $45 million. He sold an apartment at on 72nd Street in 2013. In February 2019, Rahr was identified as the purchaser of a portrait of
President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...
. According to testimony from Michael Cohen, Rahr bought a nine-foot-tall portrait of Trump from artist William Quigley for $67,000. Trump used funds from his personal foundation to pay back Rahr for the portrait. In March 2021, he sold his 18,000-square-foot home called Burn Point on
Georgica Pond Georgica Pond is a coastal lagoon on the west border of East Hampton Village and Wainscott, New York, and was the site of a Summer White House of Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999. The lagoon is separated by a sandbar and is managed by the East ...
in
Wainscott, New York Wainscott is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the South F ...
for $49.7 million. He bought the house in 2004.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahr, Stewart American health care businesspeople American philanthropists Living people 1946 births American billionaires Philanthropists from New York (state) People from Far Rockaway, Queens New York University School of Law alumni Poly Prep alumni 21st-century American Jews