Bennett S. LeBow

Bennett S. LeBow is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of the board of Vector Group. After LeBow acquired the cigarette manufacturer Liggett Group in 1986, the company became involved in anti-tobacco lawsuits culminating in the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

Early life and education

LeBow's father, Martin, was a life insurance salesman and his mother, Suara (née Weiss), was a teacher. He graduated from West Philadelphia High School, LeBow went on to purchase many companies including Western Union, Information Displays, MAI Basic Four, Liggett Group, Brigham's Ice Cream, and SkyBox International. In 2000, Brooke Group Ltd. was renamed to Vector Group Ltd. In 1986, he purchased the fifth-largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States, the Liggett Group, for $140 million. In 1987, Liggett bought a majority stake in Western Union, which had a negative net worth of $200 million. The company, then renamed New Valley LLC, eventually filed for bankruptcy but was able to pay its bondholders in full via asset sales. Liggett later sold its remaining interest in Western Union Financial Services Inc for $1.2 billion, earning it a $300 million profit. In 1994, LeBow was sued by his shareholders, who claimed he had taken millions of dollars in improper loans; LeBow settled out of court." In 1995, he teamed up with corporate raider Carl Icahn to make a bid for RJR Nabisco. The bid was rejected by shareholders, who were skeptical due to LeBow's "dubious reputation as a manager." In June 2010, LeBow became CEO of Borders Group Inc. In February 2011, Borders declared bankruptcy.

LeBow is chairman of the board of Vector Group, the holding company for Liggett Group, Vector Tobacco, New Valley LLC, and Douglas Elliman. He owns over 150,000 units of Vector stock, worth $7.5 million.

Tobacco industry and litigation

LeBow purchased the Liggett Group for $140 million in 1986. In 1996, while under his leadership, Liggett Group broke ranks with the rest of the US tobacco industry, including Philip Morris, Brown and Williamson, RJR Nabisco, Loews and Lorillard, when he announced that Liggett would settle the Medicaid tobacco suits brought by forty state attorneys general.

Liggett had previously been accused of being illegally influenced by Philip Morris, which allegedly paid some of Liggett's legal bills in order to buy its cooperation in anti-tobacco lawsuits. LeBow stated that the reason for the settlement was to obtain immunity for Liggett from future liabilities The settlement entailed that Liggett agree to pay $1 million in damages;

According to court documents, Liggett, while under LeBow's leadership, "engage[d] in marketing tactics that appeal to youths, such as couponing, sampling, and 'buy one get one free' offers for its cigarettes, and advertise[d] in magazines with substantial youth readership."

Through Vector Tobacco Inc., LeBow developed the nicotine-free cigarette Quest, a cigarette designed to aid in smoking cessation.

In 2005, LeBow resigned from the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Board of Trustees shortly after his appointment over discussions about the propriety of associating with the owner of a company which sells products that are known to cause cancer.

Philanthropy and political activity

LeBow is a large supporter of his alma mater, Drexel University. In 1998, Drexel's College of Business and Administration was named the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business in his honor after LeBow made a $10 million donation to the university. LeBow also endowed the Bennett S. LeBow Engineering Center, a facility that houses Drexel's College of Engineering. In November 2010, LeBow contributed $45 million for the construction of a new facility for the LeBow College of Business, the 12th largest gift to any US business school and the biggest ever to Drexel University. The new facility, which was finished in 2013, was named Gerri C. LeBow Hall in honor of LeBow's late wife Geraldine. In 2011, LeBow was named the nation's 23rd largest charitable donor by The Chronicle of Philanthropy for donating more than $49 million to charitable causes.

From 1993 to 1996, LeBow and his wife Geraldine donated more than $65,000 to Democratic candidates. A spokesman for LeBow said that, at the time of the fundraiser, LeBow was unaware of Rabinovich's alleged ties to organized crime. Rabinovich said he did not donate money to the fundraiser. According to a spokesman for LeBow in 1997, LeBow's Brooke Group and Rabinovich were participating in the development of a business center and luxury hotel in Kyiv. In 2009, LeBow made a $10,000 campaign contribution to Manhattan District Attorney candidate Leslie Crocker Snyder, whose law firm – Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman – had represented the Liggett Group in smoking and health litigation since 1996. According to CNN, LeBow was a "substantial donor" to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Personal life

LeBow is Jewish. whom he met while they were college students (he was at Drexel and she attended Temple University). They had two daughters.

In 1989, Brooke Yachts International Ltd. (which LeBow bought for $4million when the shipyard encountered financial issues) finished Lebow's $21 million yacht. The yacht, which was long, was considered one of the ten largest private yachts in 1993.

LeBow owned property on Fisher Island in Florida. The penthouse, which was bought by Geraldine for $4.25million in 1995, was sold in 2020 for $15million. In 2016, LeBow bought an , five-bedroom unit on the 64th floor of 432 Park Avenue in New York City for $44.8million.

References

External links

Drexel University's LeBow College of Business