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Israel Arnold Ziff OBE (31 January 1927 – 14 July 2004) was a British businessman and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
, who particularly donated to good causes within
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
. He was made a
Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...
in 1979 and received an OBE in 1981.Burke's Landed Gentry - the Ridings of York
/ref> From 1991 to 1992 he was
High Sheriff of West Yorkshire The High Sheriff of West Yorkshire is a current High Sheriff title which has existed since 1974, the holder is changed annually every March. For around 1,000 years the entire area of Yorkshire was covered by a single Sheriff of Yorkshire. After th ...
.


Life

Ziff's family was of Russian/German origin. He was born 31 January 1927 in LeedsGuardian 30 July 2004
Arnold Ziff
and attended both
Roundhay School Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. History Etymology Roundh ...
and
Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
, where he studied economics, but did not complete the degree, being called up for
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
.Leeds Reporter
Ziff Building
He inherited his father's shoe company Stylo, and formed property company Town Centre Securities in 1959.Times Online
31 July 2004
A notable development was the
Merrion Centre, Leeds The Merrion Centre is a shopping centre located in the Arena Quarter area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Since opening in 1964, the centre has been owned and managed by Town Centre Securities. Originally open air, the centre had a roof i ...
. In 1952 he married Marjorie Esther Morrison (born 26 May 1929Jewish Chronicle
27 May 2009
). They had 2 sons, Michael (born 1953) and Edward (born 1960) who continued his business, as
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
s of Stylo and Town Centre Securities respectively. Arnold and Marjorie also had a daughter, Ann Louise Arnold's wife,
Marjorie Ziff Marjorie Esther Ziff ( Morrison; 26 May 1929 – 3 April 2023) was a British philanthropist recognised for her contributions to the Jewish community in Leeds. She was the wife of businessperson and philanthropist Arnold Ziff. Career Ziff sup ...
received an
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
in the
2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 ''New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...
for services to the community in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.


Benefactions

Ziff was a major sponsor of Tropical World, Roundhay Park which is now named after him. Likewise his gifts to the University of Leeds are commemorated in the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff building, which is home to student services at the university after being opened in 2010. He gave to Jewish welfare organizations, and is commemorated in the Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Community Centre in
Moortown, Leeds Moortown is an affluent suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in the LS17 and LS8 postcode district. It is a civil parish and sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council in the north east of the city. It is situated between Roundhay ...
. He was also a patron of the arts, and had a collection including items from his friend,
Rowland Emett Frederick Rowland Emett OBE (22 October 190613 November 1990), known as Rowland Emett (with the forename sometimes spelled "Roland" s his middle name appears on his birth certificateand the surname frequently misspelled "Emmett"), was an Engl ...
.


Further reading

*Nigel Watson (2005) ''Arnold Ziff: The Making of a Great Yorkshireman'' (
Vallentine Mitchell Vallentine Mitchell is a publishing company based in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The company publishes books on Jewish-related topics. One of its earliest books was the first English-language edition of ''The Diary of Anne Frank''. From ...
)


References


Guardian 30 July 2004
Arnold Ziff
Timesonline 31 July 2004
It's business as usual, Arnold Ziff's heirs insist {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziff, Arnold 1927 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Leeds English people of Russian descent English philanthropists English Jews Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Roundhay School High Sheriffs of West Yorkshire 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English businesspeople