Laurence Tisch
Encyclopedia
Laurence Alan "Larry" Tisch (March 5, 1923—November 15, 2003) was an American
businessman, Wall Street
investor
and self-made billionaire
. He was the CEO of CBS
television network from 1986 to 1995. With his brother Bob Tisch
, he was part owner of the Loews Corporation
.
Tisch served as chairman of the board of trustees at New York University
from 1978 to 1998, overseeing a $1 billion
capital campaign and major improvements in the university. Tisch was also a former president of the United Jewish Appeal of New York.
when he was just 18 and received a Wharton
MBA in industrial management by 20. Just five years out of NYU he made his first investment, purchasing a 300-room winter resort in Lakewood, New Jersey. Two years later, his brother Bob
joined him in the business, launching a lifelong partnership between the pair.
As the first hotel took off, the Tisch brothers bought hotels in Atlantic City
and the Catskills
. Their hotel empire continued to expand, generating millions of dollars, and the Tisch brothers began investing in Loews Theaters.
and became its co-chairman with his brother. The pair soon diversified the business, successfully venturing into a variety of areas. After he and his brother took over Loews, the company moved in a variety of directions. Loews acquired Lorillard, a tobacco company, and the Bulova Watch Company Through acquisitions, Tisch built Loews' revenues from $100 million in 1970 to more than $3 billion by a decade later.
At Loews, Tisch oversaw a financial corporation with assets of over $70 billion, including a hotel chain, a tobacco
company (Lorillard), an insurance firm (CNA Financial), and an offshore drilling
company. In 2002, the year before Larry Tisch's death, the corporation had revenues of more than $17 billion and assets of more than $70 billion.
, he was named the company's president and CEO.
The Tisch era at CBS was marked by relentless cost-cutting. CBS divested itself of non-broadcast assets including Holt, Rinehart and Winston (publishers) for $500M, and the CBS Music Group, which was sold to Sony
for $2 billion. Westinghouse Electric bought CBS in 1995 for an estimated $5.4 billion, of which Tisch's ownership netted him $2 billion.
, with major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, New York University, the NYU Medical Center and the Wildlife Conservation Society
. His $4.5 million gift to the latter created the Tisch Children's Zoo in Central Park
.
is named after him. The current Laurence A. Tisch professor is Niall Ferguson
, an acclaimed Scottish economic historian.
, aged 80, in 2003. He was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery
in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
and self-made billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
. He was the CEO of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network from 1986 to 1995. With his brother Bob Tisch
Preston Robert Tisch
Preston Robert "Bob" Tisch was the chairman, and, with his brother Laurence, part owner of the Loews Corporation. Tisch was born in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn in 1926. On August 16, 1986, he was appointed Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service, serving until February 1988...
, he was part owner of the Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation is a holding company run by the Tisch Family whose subsidiaries are engaged in the following lines of business:*property and casualty insurance...
.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
from 1978 to 1998, overseeing a $1 billion
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
capital campaign and major improvements in the university. Tisch was also a former president of the United Jewish Appeal of New York.
Early life and career
Tisch was born March 5, 1923 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
when he was just 18 and received a Wharton
Wharton
-Academic institutions:*Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania*Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University-Places:*Wharton, Cheshire, England*Wharton, Cumbria, England*Wharton, New Jersey*Wharton, Ohio*Wharton, Texas...
MBA in industrial management by 20. Just five years out of NYU he made his first investment, purchasing a 300-room winter resort in Lakewood, New Jersey. Two years later, his brother Bob
Preston Robert Tisch
Preston Robert "Bob" Tisch was the chairman, and, with his brother Laurence, part owner of the Loews Corporation. Tisch was born in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn in 1926. On August 16, 1986, he was appointed Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service, serving until February 1988...
joined him in the business, launching a lifelong partnership between the pair.
As the first hotel took off, the Tisch brothers bought hotels in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
and the Catskills
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
. Their hotel empire continued to expand, generating millions of dollars, and the Tisch brothers began investing in Loews Theaters.
Career at Loews
In 1961, Tisch gained control of LoewsLoews
The name Loews can refer to several articles in the Wikipedia:* Loews Theatres - Cinema chain* Loews Corporation - Holding company* Loews Hotels - Luxury hotel and resort chain with destinations in the United States and in Canada...
and became its co-chairman with his brother. The pair soon diversified the business, successfully venturing into a variety of areas. After he and his brother took over Loews, the company moved in a variety of directions. Loews acquired Lorillard, a tobacco company, and the Bulova Watch Company Through acquisitions, Tisch built Loews' revenues from $100 million in 1970 to more than $3 billion by a decade later.
At Loews, Tisch oversaw a financial corporation with assets of over $70 billion, including a hotel chain, a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
company (Lorillard), an insurance firm (CNA Financial), and an offshore drilling
Offshore drilling
Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...
company. In 2002, the year before Larry Tisch's death, the corporation had revenues of more than $17 billion and assets of more than $70 billion.
Career at CBS
In 1986, when CBS Inc. was the target of several hostile takeover attempts, Tisch spent $800 million for a 24.9% stake of the company. With the support of company patriarch William S. PaleyWilliam S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
, he was named the company's president and CEO.
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
for $2 billion. Westinghouse Electric bought CBS in 1995 for an estimated $5.4 billion, of which Tisch's ownership netted him $2 billion.
Philanthrophy
Tisch was also known for his philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, with major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York University, the NYU Medical Center and the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
. His $4.5 million gift to the latter created the Tisch Children's Zoo in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
Harvard Professorship
The professorship for history and economics in Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
is named after him. The current Laurence A. Tisch professor is Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
, an acclaimed Scottish economic historian.
Death
Laurence Tisch died of gastroesophageal cancerEsophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
, aged 80, in 2003. He was interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery
Westchester Hills Cemetery
The Westchester Hills Cemetery, approximately 20 miles north of New York City, was established at 400 Saw Mill River Road in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York. It welcomes the burial of Christians and Jews, and many well-known entertainers and performers are interred there...
in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in the southwest part of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 7,849. It lies on U.S. Route 9, "Broadway" in Hastings...
.