Ferdinand A. Eberstadt (June 19, 1890 – November 11, 1969) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

, and an important policy advisor to the United States government who was instrumental in the creation of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

and the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

Biography

Ferdinand Eberstadt graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1913. At Princeton he developed a lifelong friendship with investment banker and future Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. After serving overseas in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he set up a law practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, providing legal services to members of the

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

financial community. In 1923 he joined the prominent investment-banking firm of Dillon, Read & Co. where he earned wide respect for helping with the financing for the firm's 1925 acquisition and ultimate 1928 sale of Dodge Brothers Automobile Company to the

Chrysler Corporation Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

. Recognized for his negotiating skills in financial matters, Eberstadt was invited by the

Hoover administration Herbert Hoover's tenure as the 31st president of the United States began on his inauguration on March 4, 1929, and ended on March 4, 1933. Hoover, a Republican, took office after a landslide victory in the 1928 presidential election over Democr ...

to participate in the 1929 World War I reparations conference in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as an assistant to

Owen D. Young Owen D. Young (October 27, 1874July 11, 1962) was an American industrialist, businessman, lawyer and diplomat at the Second Reparations Conference (SRC) in 1929, as a member of the German Reparations International Commission. He is known for t ...

. As an investment banker, Ferdinand Eberstadt was a key player in the efforts to restore confidence in the business community following the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

by putting together restructuring packages for small business. In 1931, he set up F. Eberstadt & Co, his own investment firm that dealt in the securities of a medium-sized businesses. Near the end of the decade, Eberstadt created the Chemical Fund that proved instrumental in getting investors to see

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...

s as a sound investment vehicle. As well, he helped pioneer the

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

technique and his success made him one of the most respected financiers in the United States. In September 1942,

Donald M. Nelson Donald Marr Nelson (1888–1959) was an American business executive and public servant, serving as the executive vice president of Sears Roebuck before accepting the position of director of priorities of the United States Office of Production Man ...

, the former vice-president of

Sears Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, and Chairman of the United States War Production Board (WPB) called upon the skills of Ferdinand Eberstadt, appointing him Chairman of the Army and Navy Munitions Board and Vice Chairman of the War Productions Board. Eberstadt developed the organizational structure known as the "Controlled Materials Plan" that allowed the armed forces to prioritize their needs that in turn allowed the private sector to prioritize its production to meet the military's needs. At the end of the War, on behalf of

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, James V. Forrestal, Eberstadt wrote what became known as the

Eberstadt Report The Eberstadt Report, officially known as the Task Force Report on National Security Organization, was a study conducted by the United States government which evaluated the structure and operations of the United States Department of Defense and Uni ...

that identified a serious lack of coordination between the

, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, and the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

services. His Report led to the creation of the National Security Council. In 1946, Eberstadt served as assistant to Bernard M. Baruch on the

United Nations Atomic Energy Commission The United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) was founded on 24 January 1946 by the very first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly "to deal with the problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy." The General Assembly asked ...

. In 1948, he prepared a Report on the operations of the National Security Resources Board and the following year was named Chairman of the Commission on National Security Organization for the

Hoover Commission The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the Unite ...

. Eberstadt maintained a residence in New York City but in 1927 purchased an estate on the peninsula at Lloyd's Neck on the north shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

called Target Rock Farm. It would become known for the magnificent gardens Eberstadt created. In 1967 he donated this property to the Federal government under the

Migratory Bird Conservation Act The Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 ({{usstat, 45, 1222) of February 18, 1929, (also known as the "Norbeck-Andresen Act") created the United States Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) to consider and approve any areas of land and/ ...

. Today, it is known as the Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge and is operated by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

. It is open to the public. The donated land was to be the formal legal basis that halted the proposed construction of a

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...

by the

Long Island Lighting Company The Long Island Lighting Company, or LILCO "lil-co" was an electrical power company and natural gas utility for the communities of Long Island, New York, serving 2.7 million people in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties. ...

in 1970. Eberstadt died as a result of cardiac problems at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1969, at age 79. Among his grandchildren is the writer

Fernanda Eberstadt Fernanda Eberstadt (born 1960 in New York City) is an American writer. Early life She is the daughter of two patrons of New York City's avant-garde, Frederick Eberstadt, a photographer and psychotherapist, and Isabel Eberstadt, a writer. Her pat ...

References

External links

Ferdinand Eberstadt Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberstadt, Ferdinand 1890 births 1969 deaths New York (state) lawyers American bankers Philanthropists from New York (state) People from Lloyd Harbor, New York 20th-century American philanthropists Princeton University alumni 20th-century American lawyers