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

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New Jersey. Norcross is executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance brokerage firm. He is chairman of the board of trustees for Cooper University Health Care System and Cooper University Hospital both in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, and has served as a trustee since 1990. He led the effort to create the

Cooper Medical School of Rowan University Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) is a public medical school located in Camden, New Jersey. It was created as a partnership between Rowan University and Cooper University Hospital in 2009 by executive order of Governor Jon Corzin ...

and to partner with MD Anderson Cancer Center 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 The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the ''New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's ''New York Observer'' blog, "''The Poli ...

. 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 The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. He formerly belonged to Mar-a-Lago, the club owned by former United States President Donald Trump.

Early life

Norcross was born on March 16, 1956, in Cooper University Hospital,

, the son of George E. Norcross, Jr., the president of the AFL–CIO Central Labor Union of

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

and Gloucester 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 and briefly attended Rutgers University–Camden. He has three brothers: Donald, a United States Congressman representing

New Jersey's 1st congressional district New Jersey's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district, which includes Camden and South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, has been represented by Democrat Donald Norcross since November 2 ...

; Philip, managing partner of the law firm Parker McCay; and John, a psychologist, author, and professor at the University of Scranton.

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

, which New Jersey Assembly 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, 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 Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is the lead U.S. Defense Department program promoting cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard and Reserve employees. Established in 1972, ESGR operates w ...

in recognition of the program. In February 2012, Norcross penned an op-ed in the ''

Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscriber ...

'' that called for the merger of Rowan University 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 and the United States Attorney's office under Chris Christie 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. 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 The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption is the best-selling nonfiction book by Trenton-based investigative reporters Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure, published by St. Martin’s Press in 2008. The book focuses on the widespread corrupti ...

: 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