Sidney Frank
Encyclopedia
Sidney E. Frank was an American
businessman who became a billionaire
through his promotion of Grey Goose
vodka
and Jägermeister
.
, Connecticut
, to a Jewish family. His father and mother were Abraham and Sarah Frank. He grew up in Norwich, Connecticut
and graduated from the Norwich Free Academy
in 1937. He attended Brown University
(class of 1942) but left because he could only afford one year of tuition. He later made enormous gifts to the university to ensure that no student would ever be forced to leave Brown because of inability to pay tuition. Brown University named its new Life Sciences building (its largest capital project up to date) after Sidney Frank, the single most generous donor in the University's history. During World War II
, Frank worked for Pratt and Whitney as an aircraft engine
mechanic
in the South Pacific
.
, one of the largest American distiller
and spirit
importers. Frank joined Schenley after his marriage and rose to the company presidency, but was forced out in a family dispute in 1970.
In 1973 his wife died and he started his own company, Sidney Frank Importing Company, where he served as chairman and chief executive officer
. The company is based in New Rochelle, New York
where Frank lived part of the year (he had a home in Rancho Santa Fe, California
as well).
Frank's first big success with his own company was with Jacques Cardin brandy, a brand he purchased from Seagram
in 1979. In the 1980s, he obtained importing rights to Jägermeister
and promoted it heavily, advertising it as the best drink in the world, turning a specialty brand into a mainstream success. In 1997, he introduced Grey Goose vodka, made in France
, and was so successful in promoting it that he sold the brand to Bacardi
for $2 billion in June 2004.
magazine ranked him the 185th richest man in America in its Forbes 400 list. In October 2005, Frank donated £500,000 and a statue by sculptor Stephen Kettle
to Bletchley Park Trust
to fund a new Science Center dedicated to Alan Turing
and, as a great supporter of RJ Mitchell's Spitfire, commissioned a life size statue of Mitchell as well as funding a website dedicated to Mitchell's life: RJ Mitchell. A life in aviation.
His foundation has been one of the biggest supporters of the Israel Olympic Committee and has helped to pay for improvements in several Israeli sports.
Frank died January 10, 2006 on a private plane in flight between San Diego, California
and Vancouver, Canada at the age of 86 from heart failure. He was declared dead in San Francisco, California
. On his plane were several nurses and medical doctors as well as a defibrillator, but he could not be revived. He is buried in the Rosenstiel family plot at United Jewish Cemeteries
in Cincinnati. His daughter Cathy Frank Halstead is currently chairwoman of Sidney Frank Importing Company.
. In 1975, Cohn entered the hospital room of a dying and comatose Rosenstiel, forced a pen to his hand and lifted it to the will in an attempt to make himself and Cathy Frank beneficiaries. The resulting marks were determined in court to be indecipherable and in no way a valid signature. In 1986 Cohn was disbarred for unethical and unprofessional conduct in the case, as well as misappropriation of clients' funds and lying on a bar application.
Sidney Frank, and his son Matthew Frank, also sued the Rosenstiel estate, each in a separate action.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman who became a 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...
through his promotion of Grey Goose
Grey Goose vodka
Grey Goose is a Bacardi-owned brand of premium priced vodka produced in France. It is distilled in France from French wheat. In 2004, Sidney Frank sold the brand to Bacardi for $2.2 billion. Among French vodkas, Grey Goose has some competitors, as the French vodkas Nuage, Idol, and Ice Kube are...
vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
and Jägermeister
Jägermeister
Jägermeister is a German 70-proof digestif made with 56 different herbs and spices. It is the flagship product of Mast-Jägermeister SE, headquartered in Wolfenbüttel, south of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany.- History :...
.
Early life, family, education
Frank was born in MontvilleMontville, Connecticut
Montville is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,546 at the 2000 census and 19,571 at the 2010 census....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, to a Jewish family. His father and mother were Abraham and Sarah Frank. He grew up in Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
and graduated from the Norwich Free Academy
Norwich Free Academy
The Norwich Free Academy founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston andseveral...
in 1937. He attended Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
(class of 1942) but left because he could only afford one year of tuition. He later made enormous gifts to the university to ensure that no student would ever be forced to leave Brown because of inability to pay tuition. Brown University named its new Life Sciences building (its largest capital project up to date) after Sidney Frank, the single most generous donor in the University's history. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Frank worked for Pratt and Whitney as an aircraft engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
.
Business career
Frank's first wife, Louise Rosenstiel, was the daughter of Lewis Rosenstiel, founder of Schenley IndustriesSchenley Industries
Schenley was a liquor company based out of New York, N.Y. with headquarters in the Empire State Building and a distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It owned several brands of Bourbon whiskey, including Schenley, The Old Quaker Company, Carstairs' White Seal, and possibly others; they also owned a...
, one of the largest American distiller
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
and spirit
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
importers. Frank joined Schenley after his marriage and rose to the company presidency, but was forced out in a family dispute in 1970.
In 1973 his wife died and he started his own company, Sidney Frank Importing Company, where he served as chairman and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
. The company is based in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
where Frank lived part of the year (he had a home in Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
as well).
Frank's first big success with his own company was with Jacques Cardin brandy, a brand he purchased from Seagram
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
in 1979. In the 1980s, he obtained importing rights to Jägermeister
Jägermeister
Jägermeister is a German 70-proof digestif made with 56 different herbs and spices. It is the flagship product of Mast-Jägermeister SE, headquartered in Wolfenbüttel, south of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany.- History :...
and promoted it heavily, advertising it as the best drink in the world, turning a specialty brand into a mainstream success. In 1997, he introduced Grey Goose vodka, made in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and was so successful in promoting it that he sold the brand to Bacardi
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
for $2 billion in June 2004.
Philanthropy
Frank gave large bonuses to his employees and made both a $12 million donation to The Norwich Free Academy and a $120 million donation to Brown University in 2005, the ninth-largest philanthropic gift in that year. ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine ranked him the 185th richest man in America in its Forbes 400 list. In October 2005, Frank donated £500,000 and a statue by sculptor Stephen Kettle
Stephen Kettle
Stephen Kettle is a British sculptor who works exclusively with slate.His best known works include Supermarine Spitfire designer R. J...
to Bletchley Park Trust
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
to fund a new Science Center dedicated to Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
and, as a great supporter of RJ Mitchell's Spitfire, commissioned a life size statue of Mitchell as well as funding a website dedicated to Mitchell's life: RJ Mitchell. A life in aviation.
His foundation has been one of the biggest supporters of the Israel Olympic Committee and has helped to pay for improvements in several Israeli sports.
Frank died January 10, 2006 on a private plane in flight between San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and Vancouver, Canada at the age of 86 from heart failure. He was declared dead in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. On his plane were several nurses and medical doctors as well as a defibrillator, but he could not be revived. He is buried in the Rosenstiel family plot at United Jewish Cemeteries
United Jewish Cemetery
United Jewish Cemetery is a Reform Jewish cemetery, located at 3400 Montgomery Road in the Evanston neighborhood, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cemetery was opened by members of Bene Israel and B'nai Jeshurum congregations in 1862. The first burial was Issac Fredrick on February 18, 1850, when ground...
in Cincinnati. His daughter Cathy Frank Halstead is currently chairwoman of Sidney Frank Importing Company.
Legacy
Cathy Frank figured prominently in a highly publicized case regarding her grandfather's will that led to the disbarment of the controversial lawyer Roy CohnRoy Cohn
Roy Marcus Cohn was an American attorney who became famous during Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations into Communist activity in the United States during the Second Red Scare. Cohn gained special prominence during the Army–McCarthy hearings. He was also an important member of the U.S...
. In 1975, Cohn entered the hospital room of a dying and comatose Rosenstiel, forced a pen to his hand and lifted it to the will in an attempt to make himself and Cathy Frank beneficiaries. The resulting marks were determined in court to be indecipherable and in no way a valid signature. In 1986 Cohn was disbarred for unethical and unprofessional conduct in the case, as well as misappropriation of clients' funds and lying on a bar application.
Sidney Frank, and his son Matthew Frank, also sued the Rosenstiel estate, each in a separate action.
External links
- Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc.
- Jager (USA).
- Tap Machine, Inc.
- Grey Goose Vodka
- The Cocktail Creationist
Further reading
- Diane Brady. "The Wily Fox Behind Grey Goose." Business Week. September 20, 2004. 71, 73.
- Frank J. Prial. "The Seller of the Goose That Laid a Golden Egg". New York Times. January 1, 2005. C1, C2.
- Matthew Miller. "The Bartender." Forbes. October 11, 2004. 68.