Philip Morris Klutznick
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Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from January 9, 1980 to January 19, 1981 under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
Born in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, he was the chief developer of the village of Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
, a planned post World War II community in south Cook County, Illinois
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
. He was the son of Morris Klutznick and Minnie Spindler. On June 8, 1930, Klutznick married Ethel Riekes. The two had 4 sons (Thomas J, James, Robert, Samuel) and one daughter (Betty Lu).
Klutznick and his company American Community Builders (ACB) went on to work in partnership with Marshall Field's department stores, building major shopping malls in the Chicago suburbs, including Old Orchard Shopping Center
Westfield Old Orchard
Westfield Old Orchard, formerly Old Orchard Shopping Center, is an open-air upscale shopping center in Skokie, Illinois. It is the third largest mall by total square footage in Illinois. Its anchor stores are Bloomingdale's, Macy's , Lord & Taylor, L.L. Bean and Nordstrom...
in Skokie, Illinois
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
in 1955-1956 and Oakbrook Center
Oakbrook Center
Oakbrook Center is an upscale super-regional shopping center located near Interstate 88 in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was originally opened in 1962 and has become the largest open-air center in the contiguous United States with over 160 stores and restaurants...
in Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook is a village in DuPage and Cook Counties, in Illinois. The population was 8,702 at the 2000 census. A suburb of Chicago, it is the headquarters of McDonald's and Lions Clubs International.-History:...
in 1959. In 1962, he sold his shares in ACB and with his son Tom formed Klutznick Enterprises, soon to be replaced by KLC Ventures, Ltd., a partnership with longtime associates Ferd Kramer, Jerrold Loebl, Norman Cohn and Lester Crown
Lester Crown
Lester Crown is the son of Chicago financier Henry Crown , who created Material Service with two brothers in 1919, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. He has been a perennial member of the Forbes 400 list since 1982...
. KLC built and managed commercial properties in the Chicago area and in Denver.
In 1968, KLC was succeeded by Urban Investment and Development Company, which gained substantial capital when purchased by Aetna Life and Casualty Company in 1970. Klutznick retired as Chairman and CEO of Urban in 1972, but remained active in many business ventures, most notably the development of Water Tower Place
Water Tower Place
Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a shopping mall and 74 story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The complex is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Magnificent Mile. It is named after the nearby Chicago Water Tower...
in downtown Chicago.
Secretary Klutznik died from Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
on August 14, 1999 in Chicago, Illinois.
Klutznick was also a major leader of the American Jewish community. He served in his youth as the president of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) and, subsequently, as that organization's first staff director. Years later he was the president of B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
International and briefly also president of the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
. He also served as President of the Chicago Bulls franchise in 1973.