Paul Bonwit
Encyclopedia
Paul Joseph Bonwit (September 29, 1862 – December 11, 1939) retail
merchant
and founder of Bonwit Teller
department store in New York City
. Bonwit controlled the company bearing his name from its founding in 1895 until its sale in 1934.
, where he found work with a local export house as a clerk and continued his studies at night. In 1883, at age 21, he emigrated to the United States, locating at first in Lincoln
, Nebraska
, where he worked in a department store. He moved to New York
for a job with Rothschild & Company, which was renamed Bonwit, Rothschild & Company when he later became a partner. He eventually settled in New York City
. He married Sarah Woolf in 1893 and they had two sons.
In 1930 Bonwit chose a new address farther north on Fifth Avenue – the former A.T. Stewart & Company building at Fifty-sixth Street. In 1931, the company drew the attention of noted financier Floyd Odlum
who made a significant investment into the company. Bonwit agreed to let Odlum's wife Hortense
serve as a consultant to the company in 1932. Two years later, dogged by poor health and saddened by the death of his wife, Bonwit sold the firm to Odlum's Atlas Corporation
. Odlum promptly named his wife as the new president (she was the first woman to hold such a position in New York), with Bonwit's son Walter Bonwit staying on as vice president and general manager.
The company enjoyed success under the direction of the Odlums. In May 1979, the developer Donald Trump
acquired and later demolished the Fifth Avenue store in order to make room for the Trump Tower
. Bonwit Teller would change ownership several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s until 1989, when its parent company at the time filed for bankruptcy protection, liquidating most of the company in 1990.
During his business career, Bonwit sat on the boards of both Harriman National Bank and A. Sulka & Company, while he also maintained an interest in philanthropies and the arts.
Bonwit maintained an active interest in philanthropies and the arts.
He died in Manhattan
in 1939 after a brief illness and is interred in a private mausoleum in Kensico Cemetery
in Valhalla, New York.
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and founder of Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
department store in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Bonwit controlled the company bearing his name from its founding in 1895 until its sale in 1934.
Personal life
Bonwit was born near Hanover, Germany, the son of Bernard Bonwit. At the age of 16, he moved to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he found work with a local export house as a clerk and continued his studies at night. In 1883, at age 21, he emigrated to the United States, locating at first in Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, where he worked in a department store. He moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for a job with Rothschild & Company, which was renamed Bonwit, Rothschild & Company when he later became a partner. He eventually settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He married Sarah Woolf in 1893 and they had two sons.
Bonwit Teller
Wanting his own business, Bonwit established a store in New York at Sixth Avenue and Eighteenth Street in 1895. Two years later Edmund D. Teller and he relocated their establishment (now known as Bonwit Teller) to Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third Street. The partners incorporated their firm in 1907 as Bonwit Teller & Company and in 1911 relocated yet again, this time to the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-eighth Street.In 1930 Bonwit chose a new address farther north on Fifth Avenue – the former A.T. Stewart & Company building at Fifty-sixth Street. In 1931, the company drew the attention of noted financier Floyd Odlum
Floyd Odlum
Floyd Bostwick Odlum was a wealthy lawyer and industrialist. He has been described as "possibly the only man in the United States who made a great fortune out of the Depression"...
who made a significant investment into the company. Bonwit agreed to let Odlum's wife Hortense
Hortense Odlum
Hortense McQuarrie Odlum was the first woman president of Bonwit Teller Department Store in New York City and the wife of financier Floyd Odlum....
serve as a consultant to the company in 1932. Two years later, dogged by poor health and saddened by the death of his wife, Bonwit sold the firm to Odlum's Atlas Corporation
Atlas Corporation
The Atlas Corporation, was formed in 1928, from a merger of the United Corporation, an investment firm started in 1923 with $40,000, with Atlas Utilities and Investors Ltd. The corporation specialized in capital formation and management. In 1929, Atlas was a $12,000,000 investment trust...
. Odlum promptly named his wife as the new president (she was the first woman to hold such a position in New York), with Bonwit's son Walter Bonwit staying on as vice president and general manager.
The company enjoyed success under the direction of the Odlums. In May 1979, the developer Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
acquired and later demolished the Fifth Avenue store in order to make room for the Trump Tower
Trump Tower (New York)
Trump Tower is a 58-story mixed-use skyscraper located at 725 Fifth Avenue, at the corner of East 56th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was developed by Donald Trump and the Equitable Life Assurance Company, and designed by Der Scutt of Swanke, Hayden Connell...
. Bonwit Teller would change ownership several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s until 1989, when its parent company at the time filed for bankruptcy protection, liquidating most of the company in 1990.
Bonwit maintained an active interest in philanthropies and the arts.
He died in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1939 after a brief illness and is interred in a private mausoleum in Kensico Cemetery
Kensico Cemetery
Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads which served the city...
in Valhalla, New York.