Milton Petrie
Encyclopedia
Milton Petrie was a Russian American
retailer, investor and philanthropist. He made a fortune from a chain of retail stores and supplemented it through a series of investments in real estate and stocks. He was well known in New York City as a philanthropist who gave money to universities and cultural institutions and also to many individuals.
to buy the Irvine Company
returned $100 million.
He married his fourth wife, Carroll, in 1978. She was from Charleston, South Carolina
and was the widow of the Spanish race car driver Alfonso de Portago
. At the time of Petrie's death, he was survived by his wife Carroll, his children by earlier marriages Bernard Petrie, Marianne Miller and Patricia Hugenberg and grandchildren Matthew Miller and Kurt Hugenberg. At his death, he left $300–400 million to establish the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, which continued his philanthropy.
was named in appreciation of his gift of $10 million to the museum. In appreciation for his $1 million gift to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, his likeness is carved in the form of a corbel
on the wall of the cathedral's south bell tower. He also gave millions more to the Beth Israel Medical Center
, United Jewish Appeal
, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
.
But he was also well known in New York for his gifts to ordinary individuals. He gave $20,000 a year to Marla Hanson
, a model whose face was slashed in an attack instigated by a former landlord. He was especially generous to police officers. He pledged $20,000 a year to the widow of Anthony Venditti, a New York City police detective who was killed in a 1986 shootout, as well as setting up trust funds for the college education of the detective's children. He made the same gift to the widow of Louis Miller, a New York City police detective who was killed in 1987 and to Steven McDonald
, a New York City police officer who was shot and paralyzed in 1987.
Russian American
Russian Americans are primarily Americans who traces their ancestry to Russia. The definition can be applied to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to settlers of 19th century Russian settlements in northwestern America which includes today's California, Alaska and...
retailer, investor and philanthropist. He made a fortune from a chain of retail stores and supplemented it through a series of investments in real estate and stocks. He was well known in New York City as a philanthropist who gave money to universities and cultural institutions and also to many individuals.
Background
His parents were Russian immigrants who ran a pawn shop in Salt Lake City when he was born. In 1927, he started a chain of hosiery stores, but it ultimately failed. He then built a large retail company called Petrie Stores, which operated over a seventeen hundred discount women's clothing stores under various names, Petries, Jean Nicole, Rave, Stuarts, Winklemans, Marianne's and G & G. In 1987, he began to acquire shares in Toys "R" Us for less than a dollar per share. His stake grew to 38% percent of the company and was worth $1.5 billion at the time of his death. In 1977, his $10 million investment in a consortium organized by A. Alfred TaubmanA. Alfred Taubman
Adolph Alfred Taubman is an American real estate developer and philanthropist from Michigan. He pioneered the modern shopping mall concept and was described by CBS News as a "legend in retailing" who became wealthy developing upscale shopping malls. He built shopping mall developer Taubman Centers...
to buy the Irvine Company
Irvine Company
The Irvine Company is a privately held real estate development company based in Newport Beach, Orange County, Southern California. The corporate center of the company lies in Newport Center. A large portion of its operations are centered in and around the City of Irvine, a planned city of 250,000...
returned $100 million.
He married his fourth wife, Carroll, in 1978. She was from Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
and was the widow of the Spanish race car driver Alfonso de Portago
Alfonso de Portago
Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago, best known as Alfonso de Portago was a racing driver from Spain.-Notable heritage:Portago was 6' tall and weighed 170 pounds . He was educated in France...
. At the time of Petrie's death, he was survived by his wife Carroll, his children by earlier marriages Bernard Petrie, Marianne Miller and Patricia Hugenberg and grandchildren Matthew Miller and Kurt Hugenberg. At his death, he left $300–400 million to establish the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, which continued his philanthropy.
Philanthropy
He was known for large contributions to educational and cultural institutions in New York. The Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan 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...
was named in appreciation of his gift of $10 million to the museum. In appreciation for his $1 million gift to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, his likeness is carved in the form of a corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
on the wall of the cathedral's south bell tower. He also gave millions more to the Beth Israel Medical Center
Beth Israel Medical Center
Beth Israel Medical Center is a 1,368-bed, full-service tertiary teaching hospital in New York City. Originally dedicated to serving immigrant Jews living in the tenement slums of the Lower East Side, it was founded at the turn of the 20th century. The main hospital location is the Petrie...
, United Jewish Appeal
United Jewish Communities
The Jewish Federations of North America , is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 157 Jewish Federations and the Network of Independent Communities, 400 smaller Jewish communities across North America. The JFNA was formed from the 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the...
, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
.
But he was also well known in New York for his gifts to ordinary individuals. He gave $20,000 a year to Marla Hanson
Marla Hanson
Marla Hanson is a screenwriter and ex-model.Born in Independence, Missouri, Hanson attended college in Dallas, Texas. After working selling real estate and insurance, a job promotion brought her to New York City. There, a part-time modeling job eventually became a full-time career in the 1980s.In...
, a model whose face was slashed in an attack instigated by a former landlord. He was especially generous to police officers. He pledged $20,000 a year to the widow of Anthony Venditti, a New York City police detective who was killed in a 1986 shootout, as well as setting up trust funds for the college education of the detective's children. He made the same gift to the widow of Louis Miller, a New York City police detective who was killed in 1987 and to Steven McDonald
Steven McDonald
Steven McDonald is a NYPD detective who was shot on July 12, 1986. The shooting left him quadriplegic. He is the most seriously injured New York City Police officer to survive his injury....
, a New York City police officer who was shot and paralyzed in 1987.