George E. Stoddard (January 7, 1917 – March 30, 2009) was a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

financier who pioneered the use of the

sale-and-leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done f ...

transaction. Stoddard was born in

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

, in

Union County, Oregon Union County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,196. Its county seat is La Grande. Union County comprises the La Grande, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is one of the eig ...

, in 1917. His family moved east in 1928, living in

Eastchester, New York Eastchester is a town in southern Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was over 34,641 at the 2020 United States census over 32,363 at the 2010 census. There are two villages within the town: Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The ...

. Stoddard earned a bachelor's degree from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

, and a law degree from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. He worked for 34 years at the Equitable Life Assurance Society before joining W. P. Carey & Co. in 1979. At W. P. Carey, Stoddard chaired the independent investment committee, personally reviewing ever deal raised by the firms' acquisition team. "If he didn't approve of a deal, it wouldn't get done," William Polk Carey, the firm's chairman, is reported to have said.

References

1917 births 2009 deaths American financiers Brigham Young University alumni Fordham University alumni Harvard Business School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub