Background
Schiff was born to a German-Jewish banking family in New York, the son of Adele (née Neustadt) and Mortimer Loeb Schiff. He was grandson of Jacob H. Schiff.
Financier private sector banker
Schiff was born to a German-Jewish banking family in New York, the son of Adele (née Neustadt) and Mortimer Loeb Schiff. He was grandson of Jacob H. Schiff.
In 1925, Schiff graduated from Yale University, where he was assistant business manager of campus humor magazine The Yale Record.
After a year at Oxford University in England, he worked at Bankers Trust. Foreign a time, worked on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Following the 1931 death of his father, he became a partner in the investment banking firm Kuhn, Loeb & Company
Scouting movement Both John and his father were notable early Boy Scouts of America leaders.
John served as national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1951 to 1956. also served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1955 until 1961. The John M. Scout Reservation was named in his honor.
Thoroughbred horse racing owned and bred thoroughbred racehorses. He was the breeder of the 1970 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Hoist the Flag and successfully raced a number of horses including Plugged Nickle and Droll Role.
From 1965 to 1976, served as a Trustee of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation then as Trustee Emeritus until his death in 1987.