George E. Norcross III (born March 16, 1956) is an American businessman and a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

organizer and power broker in southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Norcross is executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, an

insurance brokerage An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negoti ...

firm. He is chairman of the board of trustees for Cooper University Health Care System and

Cooper University Hospital Cooper University Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility located in Camden, New Jersey. The hospital formerly served as a clinical campus of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the University of Medicine and Dentis ...

both in Camden, New Jersey, and has served as a trustee since 1990. He led the effort to create the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and to partner with

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

to create the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center, which opened in 2013. Norcross has been a prominent political leader in New Jersey for more than 30 years, since before he became chairman of the Camden County Democratic Committee in 1989, a position he held until 1993. For many years, he has been named one of the most powerful non-elected political figures in New Jersey by the website PolitickerNJ.com. From 2014 through 2021, he was named one of New Jersey's most powerful people by NJBiz.com. He is regarded as New Jersey's most powerful unelected leader. Norcross is a member of the Democratic National Committee. He formerly belonged to

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House ...

, the club owned by former United States President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

Early life

Norcross was born on March 16, 1956, in Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New Jersey, the son of George E. Norcross, Jr., the president of the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

Central Labor Union of Camden and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Counties, and his wife, Anne Carol Norcross. Norcross Jr. was active in the community of Camden and a board member of Cooper University Hospital. He served on the board of and was the chairman of United Way. His mother died at the age of 84 in 2016. She was remembered as "a tireless advocate for senior citizens." Norcross graduated from

Pennsauken High School Pennsauken High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pennsauken Pu ...

and briefly attended

Rutgers University–Camden Rutgers University–Camden is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's public research university. It is located in Camden, New Jersey. Founded in 1929 as the South Jersey Law School, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalg ...

. He has three brothers:

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

, a United States Congressman representing New Jersey's 1st congressional district; Philip, managing partner of the law firm Parker McCay; and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, a psychologist, author, and professor at the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took t ...

Career

Insurance

Norcross is the executive chairman of insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm Conner Strong & Buckelew, where he has worked since 1979. Norcross was named the second most powerful man in the New Jersey business world by NJBiz.com in 2014, 2015, and 2016, and made the list's top ten list in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. In September 2015, Norcross was announced as one of the local investors in The Camden Waterfront, a $1 billion development on Camden's waterfront initially developed by Liberty Property Trust and designed by Robert A.M. Stern. Norcross said he would invest $50 million in the project, and in March 2017, Norcross announced his company would move to the Camden waterfront as part of a $245 million development. The 18-story, 394,164 square-foot building also houses The Michaels Organization, NFI, and two new restaurants spearheaded by Philadelphia celebrity chef Michael Schulson.

Cooper University Health Care System

Norcross is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper University Health Care System ,

and the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, in Camden, New Jersey. He has served as a Cooper trustee since 1990. Norcross launched the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, which

New Jersey Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

Speaker Joseph Roberts praised for its "unflagging commitment to the city," and helped to facilitate the opening of the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center in October 2013. In the wake of the

Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014 The Veterans Health Administration controversy of 2014 is a reported pattern of negligence in the treatment of United States military veterans. Critics charged that patients at the VHA hospitals had not met the target of getting an appointment ...

, Cooper announced a "Veterans VIP Priority Program" that provided day care to veterans in New Jersey's seven southern counties. In November 2014, Cooper and Norcross were awarded the "Seven Seals" award by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in recognition of the program. In February 2012, Norcross penned an op-ed in the '' Courier-Post'' that called for the merger of

Rowan University Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

and Rutgers-Camden, positing it could be a "catalyst for the kind of renaissance that could make South Jersey an epicenter of intellectual and economic success for decades." In June that year, the state approved the partnership.

Criticism

The office of the

Attorney General of New Jersey The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limited ...

and the United States Attorney's office under

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

investigated Norcross after he was secretly taped discussing state politics. After thorough investigations and significant media coverage, he was not charged. Norcross was also the subject of a federal investigation in 2016 where his phones were wiretapped. The United States Attorney's Office for New Jersey sent Norcross a letter confirming that no action was warranted and the investigation was closed. Norcross has been associated with businesses that are alleged to have received special treatment from the

New Jersey Economic Development Authority The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent government entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base. The EDA creates public-private partnerships to provide access ...

. An investigative task force was formed to look into the operations and procedures of the EDA. Norcross sued the State of New Jersey to try stop the highly critical report from becoming public. After a five-hour court hearing about the injunction, Norcross lost and within minutes, the report was made public.

Personal life

Norcross has a daughter, Lexie, and a son, Alex. Norcross was listed as one of the state's wealthiest people, ranked 41st in New Jersey in 2015 with a net worth of almost $250 million.Bellano, Anthony
"South Jersey Democrat is Among the State's Wealthiest; George Norcross III made njbiz.com's list at No. 41."
Cherry Hill, NJ Patch, July 8, 2015. Accessed August 8, 2019. "George E. Norcross III made the list at No. 41. The 58-year-old Cherry Hill resident is worth $248.5 million, and made his wealth through banking, insurance and politics."

References

External links

PoliticsNJ.com, July 2012; accessed December 22, 2014.

w4.stern.nyu.edu, May 21, 2003; accessed December 22, 2014. *Engle, Bob & McClure, Sandy (2008), The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption, St. Martin's Press, New York.
"They Have No Choice"
phillymag.com; accessed December 22, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norcross, George, III 1956 births Living people American bankers American chief executives People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Politicians from Camden, New Jersey Commerce Bancorp New Jersey Democrats American political bosses from New Jersey Pennsauken High School alumni