Albert Hamilton Gordon (July 21, 1901 – May 1, 2009), was an American businessman who transformed the Wall Street firm of

Kidder Peabody Kidder, Peabody & Co. was an American securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. The firm's operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading. The firm was sold to General Electric in 1986. Following heavy losses, it was ...

. He bought the firm in 1931 and remained its chairman until selling it to

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

in 1986. He made cold calls to potential clients well into his 90s and continued to come to his office at Deltec Asset Management several times a week until he was over 100. During his life, he was well known for his physical fitness. He made it a habit to walk from downtown New York to Idlewild/JFK Airport, and was also known to walk to hotels rather than take a cab from the airport. He began running marathons in his 80s, exercised daily until his death, and would regularly play golf, without a golf cart, carrying his own clubs (although he usually made do with only a handful of clubs, rather than an entire bag). He later attributed his longevity to his dedication to physical fitness Past 100 years old he continued to serve as the chairman of the Trollope Society and as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School is a private boys' day school that was founded in 1645 in the town of Roxbury (now a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts) by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. It bills ...

, having graduated from there in 1919 and served as a Trustee since 1940; among his

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

activities were generous donations both to the School and to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Unknown to many as a bibliophile, Gordon donated the only surviving copy of John Eliot's 1663 “Indian Bible” to Roxbury Latin School In his latest years Gordon was still actively involved in investments and was bearish on U.S. stocks prior to the

Financial crisis of 2007-2010 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living alumnus of

The Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School is a private boys' day school that was founded in 1645 in the town of Roxbury (now a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts) by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. It bills ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and Harvard Business School.Harvard University Gazette Online
He was also a trustee of the

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

Club.

References

External links

New York Times article on Albert Gordon's death

Wall Street Journal article on Albert Gordon's death

article on Gordon's death from New York Observer

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/gordon-goin-article-1.717359 NY Daily News

Investment Advice from Bloomberg online, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Albert Hamilton 1901 births 2009 deaths American financiers American centenarians Men centenarians Philanthropists from New York (state) Harvard Business School alumni Businesspeople from New York City People from Scituate, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople