Edward Downe, Jr
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Edward Reynolds Downe Jr. (born 1929) is an American businessman and socialite.


Biography

Downe graduated from the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
's Missouri School of Journalism in 1952. He worked in a variety of capacities at two Virginia newspapers before joining True magazine. In 1954, he left True to become an editor at the rival magazine Argosy; he later moved into advertising at Argosy. In 1966, Downe purchased
Family Weekly ''USA Weekend'' was an American weekend newspaper magazine owned by the Gannett Company. Structured as a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper ''USA Today'' and distributed in the Sunday editions of participating local newspapers, ...
, a newspaper insert similar to Parade Magazine. He founded
Downe Communications Downe Communications was a publishing company founded by Edward Downe, Jr. that produced several popular magazines and provided subscription fulfillment services from 1967 to 1978. Downe was a trained journalist who worked at newspapers before bec ...
in 1967. Through this company he went on to acquire magazines including
The Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
, and
The American Home ''The American Home'' was a monthly magazine published in the United States from 1928 to 1977. Its subjects included domestic architecture, interior design, landscape design and gardening."American Home", Library of Congress Catalog. History and ...
. Downe eventually sold Downe Communications to the
Charter Company The Charter Company of Jacksonville, Florida was a conglomerate with more than 180 subsidiaries that was in the ''Fortune'' 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 and ranked 61st in 1984. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in late 1984, ...
, a Jacksonville, Florida based oil and insurance conglomerate for approximately $9 million. Downe divorced his first wife, Naomi Susan Campbell, in 1977. Downe married heiress Charlotte Ford (mother of
Elena Ford Elena Anne Ford-Niarchos (born May 25, 1966) is an American-Greek businesswoman. She is the Chief customer experience, Customer Experience Officer at Ford Motor Company and the first female Ford family member to hold an executive position at the ...
) on his 57th birthday, August 31, 1986.


Insider trading

In 1992, the
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
charged that in the mid- to late-1980s Downe and associated exchanged inside information in order to make illegal stock trades.


Irish cottage controversy

In February 2009 the
Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...
ran a story concerning US senator
Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...
's acquisition of his vacation home in Roundstone, Ireland. The article pointed out Dodd's close links to Downe, his disgraced former partner in buying the home. After paying an $11 million fine for his role in the scam, Downe later obtained a
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
in the waning days of the
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
administration. The controversial pardon was granted after Dodd lobbied Clinton on Downe's behalf. Dodd later acquired the interests of his partners after the pardon was granted. Dodd was also criticized for claiming the Roundstone home was worth less than $250,000 in Senate ethics filings; some observers estimated the likely value in excess of $1 million USD.


See also

*
List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States #REDIRECT List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States {{R from move ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downe, Edward Jr. Living people American businesspeople Recipients of American presidential pardons 1929 births American businesspeople convicted of crimes Missouri School of Journalism alumni