(In this book Bronfman describes his rebellion from tradit...)
In this book Bronfman describes his rebellion from tradition and later return to Judaism through religious and political involvement. He acknowledges the influence of the late Nahum Goldmann, cofounder of the WJC, and writes of his relationships with Shimon Peres, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, Golda Meir, Jesse Jackson, and others. Robert A. Silver, writing in Library’ Journal, called these accounts “fascinating.”
Edgar Miles Bronfman was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the chairman of the Seagram Company and long-serving president of the World Jewish Congress.
Background
Edgar Miles Bronfman was born on June 20, 1929, into the Jewish-Canadian Bronfman family in Montreal. He was the son of Samuel Bronfman and Saidye Rosner Bronfman. Bronfman grew up in Montreal in a wealthy household that included his parents and younger brother, Charles.
Education
Bronfman’s father was a traditional Jew from humble beginnings who chose to enroll his sons in a prestigious Protestant private school during a time when anti-Semitism prevailed in Canada. Bronfman also attended Trinity College in Port Hope, Ontario, becoming one of the few Jews to enroll in that Catholic institution.
Career
Bronfman took full control of his father’s company in 1971, and propelled it into a multibillion-dollar business. Seagram operates in forty countries and employs thirty thousand people. Over the years, Bronfman’s acquisitions have included liquor companies, Tropicana, publisher Putnam, a twenty-five percent interest in the Dupont Corporation, and investments in film and theater, including a large share of MGM. Bronfman continues to sit on the board of directors of Seagram. His second son, Edgar M. Bronfman Jr., succeeded him as president and chief executive officer in 1994 and acquired eighty percent of entertainment conglomerate MCA in a much-publicized deal that added to Seagram’s holdings.
The WJC is an umbrella organization for groups dedicated to Zionism, the opposition of anti-Semitism, and charities. Bronfman’s efforts led to the revelation that former president of Austria and United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim had been a Nazi intelligence officer responsible for sending Greek Jews to the death camps in Auschwitz and for executing hostages and civilians in the Balkans. Bronfman worked with the former Soviet Union in gaining entry for Jews. He headed the WJC’s World Jewish Restitution Organization, founded in 1992, and negotiated with Eastern European governments for the return of property stolen from Jews by the Nazis and later confiscated by the communists. Bronfman had the support of U.S. President Bill Clinton and Senator Alphonse D’Amato of New York. D’Amato’s researchers uncovered enough evidence of hidden assets to justify banking committee hearings. The Swiss government offered thirty-two million dollars, but Bronfman refused to settle.
Nearly two years after Bronfman’s first meeting with Swiss bankers in 1995, Switzerland offered a settlement of over six billion dollars to be placed in a fund for victims of the Nazis and other human rights violators. Bronfman sits on the board of this fund. The effect of Bronfman’s success in Switzerland was felt in two dozen other countries, from Bulgaria to Argentina, who had not given clear answers as to the whereabouts and amounts of Jewish assets that had been lost within their borders.
Bronfman died of natural causes, the New York Times reported, citing the family's Samuel Bronfman Foundation.
Bronfman’s religion was not a significant influence during his childhood and most of his adult life. In recent years, he has turned to the study of Judaism and traveled to campuses to stress the value of their religion to Jewish students.
Views
Quotations:
“We need a spiritual rebirth. The ultimate problem in Judaism is not what happened fifty years ago, but what we are doing to ourselves, which is assimilating and opting out of our Judaism.”
Membership
World Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Commission
New York City Anti-Defamation League
United Jewish Appeals
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies
Union American Hebrew Congregation
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
“It is the Jewish world that has most cuttingly questioned Edgar Bronfman’s aims, his brash, unrelenting approach, or his basic wisdom,” - Morris.
“A lot of the resentment towards Edgar is that he and his staff are so effective.” - J. J. Goldberg
“Bronfman’s intelligence and blunt candor are enough to engage anyone curious about. One of this century’s most successful businessmen.”
“No one but Bronfman himself would have had the guts to be as scathing about the shortcomings of various bankers, lawyers, and executives who have crossed swords with him.”
Connections
Bronfman was married five times including two times to the same woman.
His first wife was Ann Margaret Loeb (1932–2011). They married in 1953 and divorced in 1973. They had five children.
Soon after his divorce from Loeb, Bronfman married Lady Carolyn Townshend, in 1973. The couple separated after 10 days and their marriage was annulled in 1974.
In 1975, he married Webb, then 25, who converted to Judaism and is the daughter of Barry and Eileen Webb, proprietors of an Essex country pub, Ye Old Nosebag. Webb and Bronfman divorced in 1983 and were later remarried, but again divorced. Bronfman and Webb had two children together.