Irwin L. Jacobs
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Irwin L. Jacobs (July 15, 1941 – April 10, 2019) was an American businessman. He was the CEO of several large corporations, formerly including the now-bankrupt
Genmar Holdings Genmar Holdings, Inc. was the second largest manufacturer of recreational motor boats, founded in 1978. It was headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota with offices in Little Falls, Minnesota and Cadillac, Michigan. In 2009, the company filed for ...
, boat-building company. He earned the nickname "Irv the Liquidator" for his aggressive business practices in the 1970s and early 1980s.Pink, Aiden (April 10, 2019)
Businessman Irwin Jacobs, Wife Found Dead In Minnesota Mansion
''
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...
''. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
In 1973, Jacobs founded COMB ("Close-out Merchandise Buyers"), a catalog-based mail-order retailer. In 1986, COMB and several cable television operators created the
Cable Value Network QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Penn ...
(CVN), a pioneering television shopping channel which was later purchased by
Joseph Segel Joseph Myron Segel (January 9, 1931 – December 21, 2019) was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of over 20 American companies, most notably QVC, an American television network, and the Franklin Mint, a producer of mail-order collectib ...
's QVC. Jacobs, based in Minneapolis, became wealthy by taking big stakes in
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
conglomerates, usually to unlock value by breaking them up.


Early life

Jacobs was born to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. He started his career working with his father at his business, the Northwestern Bag Company. He attended the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
for one day to be able to continue working for his father.


Career

At the age of 33, Jacobs purchased the ailing
Grain Belt Brewery Grain Belt is a brand of beer brewed in the American state of Minnesota, by the August Schell Brewing Company. The beer has been produced in a number of varieties. Grain Belt Golden was the original style introduced in 1893. The current offerings ...
in 1975 for $4.1 million with his company I.J. Enterprises. He tried unsuccessfully for eight months to turn around the company, which was losing nearly $200,000 per month. He then liquidated the company, selling the brand to
G. Heileman Brewing Company The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, was a brewery firm that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's, and its independent existence ceased. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewe ...
, and profited $4 million. He later sold the property that accompanied the brewery to the City of Minneapolis in 1989 for $4.85 million. Jacobs' next deal netted him even more money. He read about
W. T. Grant W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns. History In 1906 the ...
filing for bankruptcy in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' and decided to purchase their consumer accounts receivable. He soon after that negotiated a deal where he purchased the $276.3 million account for $44 million and 5% of first years sales. Jacobs also owned a minority share of the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
, which he sold to
Mike Lynn Michael Lynn III (May 18, 1936 – July 21, 2012) was an American football general manager and executive. He served as the general manager of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings from 1975 to 1990. Early life Lynn's father died of ...
in 1991. At the time of his death, Irwin Jacobs owned many businesses. The list included
Watkins Incorporated Watkins Incorporated is a manufacturer of health remedies, baking products, and other household items. Founded in 1868, Watkins Incorporated is based in Winona, Minnesota, United States, which utilizes an omni-channel marketing strategy which in ...
, Jacobs Management Corp., Jacobs Industries, Inc., J.Y.J. Corp., C.O.M.B. Co., Federal Financial Corporation, FFC Realty, Watkins, Inc., Northwestern Bag Corporation, Nationwide Collection Service, Inc., 1. Jacobs Enterprises, Kodicor, Inc., Brown-Minneapolis Tank and Fabricating Co., Regional Accounts Corporation, Nationwide Accounts, Corporation, Jacobs Bag Corporation, Lawndale Industries Inc., EQC of Indiana, Inc., Touch Corporation, JMSL Acquiring Corporation, S.J. Industries, Inc., JII Air Service, Inc., P.S.T. Acquiring Corporation, Jacobs Trading, and J&D Acquisitions LLC. Jacobs founded FLW, the parent organization of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, a series of
sportfishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
tours best known for its bass fishing tournaments. They were developed with an eye toward media coverage in general and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
coverage in particular.FLW Outdoors: Irwin Jacobs bio
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Personal life

Jacobs lived on a 32-acre estate between
Lake Minnetonka Lake Minnetonka (Dakota: ''Mní iá Tháŋka'') is a lake located about west-southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lake Minnetonka has about 23 named bays and areas. The lake lies within Hennepin and Carver counties and is surrounded by 13 inc ...
and Lake Tanager in the
Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
suburb of Orono. The house was originally built in 1939 by the son of
James Ford Bell James Ford Bell as a member of the Food Administration in 1918. James Ford Bell (August 16, 1879 – May 7, 1961) was an American business leader and philanthropist who served as president of General Mills from 1928 to 1934 and chairman from 1934 ...
, founder of General Mills, and appeared in a few scenes of the 1972 film '' The Heartbreak Kid'' not long before he bought it at age 30 for $340,000. He and his wife, Alexandra Jacobs, raised five children in the home.Lynn Underwood
"Homegazing: Inside Irwin Jacobs' retreat on Lake Minnetonka"
''Star Tribune'', February 22, 2014.
Alexandra was an accomplished artist and philanthropist.Williams, Brandt (April 12, 2019)
"Irwin Jacobs' death ruled a suicide, wife Alexandra a homicide"
Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...
.
The couple collected eclectic artwork, including a vast array of African ivory purchased from a trader's collection. The Jacobses put the estate on the market in 2014 for $22 million, but it had not changed hands at the time he died in 2019. The historic mansion was demolished in 2021. By 2019 Alexandra, Jacobs' wife of 57 years, was using a wheelchair and showing signs of dementia, and he was reported to be distraught over her condition. Their daughter Sheila has
cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
, and he was a major supporter of the
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...
, for which he once served as chairman after donating $8 million in 1991.


Death

Jacobs and his wife were found dead of gunshot wounds on a bed in their Orono home on the morning of April 10, 2019. A handgun was found next to them. The Hennepin County
medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...
concluded that Irwin Jacobs shot his wife and then himself.John Reinan (April 12, 2019)
"Medical examiner confirms: Jacobs deaths are murder-suicide"
''
Star-Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
''. accessed April 12, 2019.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Irwin L. 1941 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews Corporate raiders Minnesota Vikings owners Businesspeople from Minnesota Murder–suicides in Minnesota Suicides by firearm in Minnesota 2019 suicides American chief executives 21st-century American Jews