Ziff Brothers
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dirk, Robert and Daniel Ziff, known as the Ziff brothers, are the sons of American publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff Jr. and Barbara Ingrid Beitz. They inherited the family fortune in 1994 and formed Ziff Brothers Investments.


Education and personal life

Dirk Edward Ziff Dirk Edward Ziff (born 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, the eldest son of publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff Jr. and grandson of William Bernard Ziff Sr. He and his two brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994. Early life ...
was born in 1965, Robert D. Ziff in 1967, and Daniel M. Ziff in 1973. Their father was the
Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...
media magnate William Bernard Ziff Jr. (1930–2006), who had inherited
Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related servi ...
from his father
William Bernard Ziff Sr. William Bernard Ziff Sr. (August 1, 1898 – December 20, 1953) was an American publishing executive and author. Early life By 1916, Ziff was working as an artist. He would later go on to serve as an aviator in World War I. Ziff Davis Inc. ...
and built the magazine publisher that included titles such as
Popular Aviation Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related service ...
,
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...
, and
Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine first published in 1955. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased it from its prior owner Hachette Fi ...
. Their mother was Barbara Ingrid Beitz, an ethnic
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
whose parents were awarded the "
Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
"
honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...
by the
State of 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 ...
for providing refuge and risking their lives to save Jews during World War II. Dirk Ziff graduated in 1981 from the Trinity School in New York City, where his father served as trustee. He later earned a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
and a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
from
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
. He is married to former ''
Forbes magazine ''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 c ...
'' reporter Natasha Bacigalupo. The couple lives in
North Palm Beach North Palm Beach is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The village won an award from the National Association of Home Builders as best planned commun ...
, Florida and vacations at their
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...
home. They have two children. Robert Ziff studied undergraduate electrical and computer engineering at Harvard, graduating ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
''. He then attended
Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...
, where he graduated first in his class and was editor of the Cornell Law Review. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Monroe G. McKay of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...
in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
,
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, and later served as vice president of strategic planning at Ziff Communications Company. He is married to fellow Cornell graduate and attorney Michelle Angelic Locher. They live in
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 ...
with their twin sons. He sits on the board of trustees at The Browning School attended by his son Jonathan. Daniel Ziff graduated in 1989 from the Trinity School in New York City, and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. In 2009, he married Leslie Ziff, who serves on the boards of the
American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...
and Rosie's Theater Kids. The couple later divorced, and Daniel married Brianne Garcia Ziff in 2017. They live in New York City.


Fortune

The Ziff brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994 after their father sold 95% of
Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related servi ...
to
Forstmann Little Forstmann, Little & Company was an American private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer fro ...
for $1.4 billion and retired. William Ziff Jr. had originally wanted to pass the company on to his sons but they were not interested. Instead, they formed the Ziff Brothers Investments
family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...
in New York City, investing their inheritances broadly across equities, debt, real estate, commodities, private equity and hedge funds. They also provided seed money to fund manager
Daniel Och Daniel Och (born 27 January 1961) is an American billionaire Hedge fund, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman and former CEO of Och-Ziff Capital Management, a global hedge fund and alternative asset management ...
in exchange for a 10% stake in
Och-Ziff Capital Management Sculptor Capital Management (formerly ''Och-Ziff Capital Management Group'') is an American global diversified alternative asset management firm. They are one of the largest institutional alternative asset managers in the world. The company oper ...
, which went public in 2007. Their investments greatly expanded the brothers' fortune. ''
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 ...
'' estimated their net worth to US$4.8
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...
each. In 2021, the Ziffs sold their family estate known as ''Gemini'', which is located along South Ocean Boulevard at the south end of Manalapan near Palm Beach, for $94 million. It had initially been listed for $200 million in 2015. It was bought by
Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...
, who then sold it to
Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's chief executive officer from 1977 to 2014 and is now its chief technology officer a ...
for $173 million in 2022 which was the largest residential sale ever in Florida at the time.


Philanthropy and political contributions

In 1998, Robert Ziff donated $2 million to the Harvard University men's hockey program. In 2008, he established the Robert D. Ziff Professorship of Law at Cornell Law School. He also made headlines in 2011 for his financial contributions to Republican legislators supportive of gay marriage. In 2018, Dirk and Daniel Ziff donated $2 million to the Center for Climate and Life, a research initiative at Columbia's
Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a research, research institution specializing in the Earth science and climate change. Though part of Columbia University, it is located on a separate closed campus in Palisades, New York. The obs ...
.


References

{{reflist American billionaires American people of German descent American people of Jewish descent Ziff family American investors