Lynda Rae Resnick (born 1943
) is an American
billionaire businesswoman. Resnick is married to
Stewart Resnick, who is her business partner, and through their holding company
The Wonderful Company
The Wonderful Company LLC, formerly known as Roll Global, is a private corporation based in Los Angeles, California. With revenues of over $4 billion, it functions as a holding company for Stewart and Lynda Resnick and as such is a vehicle for ...
, they own the
POM Wonderful and
Fiji Water brands, Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds, Wonderful Halos, JUSTIN Wines, Landmark Wines, JNSQ Wines and the
floral wire service company.
Early life
Resnick was born Lynda Rae Harris 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 in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
and raised in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Her father,
Jack H. Harris, worked as a film distributor during the 1950s; he is known for producing ''
The Blob
''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe ...
'', which later became a
cult favorite
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
.
Her mother, Muriel (née Goodman), was an interior designer. Because of her father's occupation, Resnick, at the age of four, had a recurring role on ''
The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour
''The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour'' (later known as ''The Children's Hour'') was a variety show with a cast of children, including some who later became well-known adult performers. It had a long run for more than three decades. The program w ...
'' broadcast from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
Resnick graduated from
Harriton High School
Harriton High School is a public secondary school serving portions of Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The school is located on the Philadelphia Main Line.
Harriton is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other is ...
, and the family moved to
southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
.
After a brief stint at a local college, Resnick took a job at the in-house ad agency for Sunset House catalog.
Resnick founded an advertising agency, Lynda Limited, at the age of 19.
Pentagon Papers
Resnick, then Lynda Sinay, began doing occasional work for the antiwar movement during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
era. Her friend,
Daniel Ellsberg, asked to use her copy machine on nights and weekends in order to distribute top-secret military documents. Ellsberg gave these documents to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', which then published them. Dubbed the
Pentagon Papers
The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 ...
, they detailed aspects of the war hidden from the public and damaged the credibility of the presidents involved. Resnick was designated an un-indicted co-conspirator for her role and pursued by prosecutors for two years. Legal actions were eventually dropped.
Career and companies
Lynda Resnick has been involved in many companies.
The Wonderful Company
The Wonderful Company LLC, formerly known as Roll Global, is a private corporation based in Los Angeles, California. With revenues of over $4 billion, it functions as a holding company for Stewart and Lynda Resnick and as such is a vehicle for ...
, formerly Roll Global, is a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
which the Resnicks use to facilitate their various business ventures.
Notable brands controlled by the Resnicks include POM Wonderful, Fiji Water, Wonderful Halos and Wonderful Pistachios.
They also operate large industrial citrus and nut farms in California. The Resnicks met while he was president of American Protection Industries,
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and she was pitching her ad agency to get his business.
The Resnicks purchased
in 1979,
at which time Lynda left her advertising job to become the company's executive vice president of marketing and eventually president. As Vice-Chair and co-owner of Teleflora's holding company, Resnick has been involved with securing flagship TV sponsorship roles. She won a Gold Effie Award for her idea to pair fresh flowers with a collectible keepsake container, while her
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...
special on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
resulted in another Effie win. January 2009 saw her company's first
Super Bowl advertisement, which was voted one of the best Super Bowl ads by several newspapers, blogs, and online fan sites.
Franklin Mint
The Resnicks purchased
the Franklin Mint
The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township.
The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...
in 1984;
Lynda began directing the company's international marketing efforts, a position she held until 2000. She influenced a new business plan of providing products that delivered "emotional satisfaction", such as the high-end collectible doll business.
According to the ''Encyclopedia of American Women in Business'', the first run of a
Scarlett O'Hara
Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...
(
''Gone with the Wind'')-inspired doll generated $35 million in sales. Also during her tenure, licensing was arranged for products related to the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
art museum in Paris, the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
,
[ ] board games like
''Monopoly'' and ''
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...
'', classic cars, and famous people like
John Wayne,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, and
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
. In 1997
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
successfully stopped the Franklin Mint from selling a commemorative medal of his win in the 1997 Masters Tournament.
The Resnicks sold the Franklin Mint in 2006.
POM Wonderful
According to her memoir, she acquired a
pistachio orchard that also contained some Wonderful variety
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
trees in California's
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
. In 1996, intrigued by folklore,
she began to sponsor medical research regarding the pomegranate's health effects. By 2000 there was research published with findings regarding effects of regular pomegranate consumption.
Resnick designed the POM Wonderful logo, and her design team developed an
hourglass-shape bottle, the company later expanding into other liquid products and pills.
Fiji Water
The Resnicks acquired the Fiji Water business in 2004, after which Lynda supervised marketing that focused on promoting the uniqueness and exotic nature of the water. According to Resnick's book, sales of Fiji Water soon increased by 300%
by 2008, becoming the largest imported bottled water brand in the United States. In response to bad publicity regarding the Fiji brand and
bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to lar ...
in general Resnick introduced a promotional campaign touting an environmental policy and plans for a reduced
carbon footprint through a series of press releases.
Wonderful Halos
In 2013 the Resnicks launched Wonderful Halos
mandarins, with a $220 million facility in the San Joaquin Valley capable of processing 19 million mandarins a day.
By 2017 Halos was the #1 segment brand, forecast to have around 70-80% market share by 2018. Company executives credit Resnick with the choice to retain Roll Global's mandarin operations in 2013 despite strong competition from existing brands, and as the key architect of Halos branding. In 2017, Halos accounted for around three-quarters of growth in the mandarin category, and 12% of total produce sales growth.
Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds
Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds is the world's largest vertically integrated pistachio and
almond grower and processor, cultivating and harvesting more than of pistachio and almond orchards and delivering more than 450 million pounds of nuts globally each year. Known for its ''Get Crackin campaign, Wonderful Pistachios was the United States' fastest-growing snack brand and the number-one tree nut brand in 2018.
JNSQ Wines
In 2019, the Resnicks launched a female-focused luxury wine brand, JNSQ (named for the French phrase "je ne sais quoi").
JNSQ Rosé Cru and JNSQ Sauvignon Blanc made their debut alongside the Fall/Winter 2019 collection from California-born designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of
Rodarte, who brought their show to Los Angeles (instead of New York Fashion Week) on February 5.
Lynda Resnick described the brand as "created specifically for
millennial
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s ...
women and older
Gen Z
Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birt ...
'ers and the milestones they are celebrating in their blossoming and exhilarating lives. It's a wine made with that same shared quality of 'je ne sais quoi' that makes each of these ladies unique, memorable and unstoppable.”
Designed to be sustainably reused, the curvaceous wine bottle was inspired by a vintage perfume bottle and comes with a rose- or grape-shaped glass stopper. "We live in an age where we don't want single-use things; we want things that last," Resnick, who is heavily involved in the product design, told ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
''.
Personal philanthropy
![WLA lacma Felix Duban et al Casket 1867](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/WLA_lacma_Felix_Duban_et_al_Casket_1867.jpg)
Resnick is a "life trustee" of the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
's Board of Trustees. She is a trustee emeritus of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In September 2008, she and her husband announced a $45 million gift to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the construction of a new exhibition pavilion, as well as $10 million in artworks.
She is on the executive board of UCLA Medical Sciences, the
Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), headquartered in Santa Monica, California, funds research into the prevention and cure of prostate cancer.
Several important prostate cancer discoveries made in the past 30 years have been as a result of PC ...
and the
Milken Family Foundation
The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation.
Goals
The foundation is focused primarily on supporting education ...
. In 2005 the
Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital was named for Resnick and her husband in honor of their involvement.
They made a $4 million donation to
Children's Hospital Central California
Valley Children's Hospital (VCH), formerly Children's Hospital Central California is a stand-alone, pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital located in Madera County, California. The hospital has 358 pediatric beds and is affiliated the ...
in 2006.
She is on the board of trustees and chair of the marketing and communications committee at the
Aspen Institute. In 2009 they announced the opening of a pre-school billed as one of the first in the US to be environmentally friendly. The same year they also announced plans to bring a charter school, Paramount Bard Academy, to the
Central Valley. At
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
's 2009 graduation ceremonies, the university announced that the Resnicks had donated $20 million towards a "sustainability center" to be named after themselves.
In 2018, the
Hammer Museum in Los Angeles announced a $30 million gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick to help pay for a renovation and expansion project.
In September 2019, Lynda Resnick and her husband pledged $750 million to the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
for
environmental sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
research.
Central Valley philanthropy
Resnick and The Wonderful Company have made significant improvements to the communities that dot California's Central Valley since 2010, especially in the city of
Lost Hills, where half of the homes have at least one family member working at The Wonderful Company.
Over the years, they have given over $100 million to two
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s, and $20 million to an agriculture-career college prep program for seven public high schools in California's Central Valley.
''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' noted that between 2010 and 2015 "the company has helped 55,000 students in the region through programs like college prep, scholarships and summer camps. One education program they built and partially funded, which was awarded an $8.5 million grant from the state in June 2015 to help them expand it, gives 200 students a year partial agricultural education and college scholarships to gain technical experience. It will reach 2,000 students in four years."
Additionally, Resnick and The Wonderful Company have been leaders in
minimum wage increases. In 2019 the company increased its minimum pay to $15 an hour for all of its California workers, three years ahead of the state-mandated deadline. In 2006 Resnick introduced the Wonderful Giving Program, allowing employees to direct donations to local charities. The largest local recipient of donations under the program is
Wasco Union High School
Wasco Union High School (WUHS) is a public American senior high school in Wasco, California. The school is part of the Wasco Union High School District and takes in incoming freshmen from the Wasco Union School District, Maple School District, Lo ...
, which during the past twelve years has received more than $210,000 thanks to Wonderful Giving. Lost Hills Elementary School, the program's second-leading recipient, has taken in $141,000.
Other local nonprofits that have benefited financially from the program include the
Bakersfield Homeless Center ($77,852), the Bakersfield Ronald McDonald House ($70,633), Marley Mutts Dog Rescue ($63,586), Youth 2 Leaders ($62,400) and the
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
chapter of the Wounded Heroes Fund ($34,310).
In 2018, the Resnicks donated $2.5 million to the
Fresno
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
Community Food Bank, the largest donation the agency has received in its 26-year history.
In 2016 the
US Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...
recognized Resnick and The Wonderful Company with their Corporate Citizenship Award for their work in community improvement.
Personal life
Resnick has been married twice. Her first marriage to publisher Hershel Sinay ended in divorce in 1969. They had two children: Jason Sinay and Jonathan Sinay.
Resnick's second marriage is to Stewart Resnick, who is also her business partner. They live in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
and have a home in
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...
.
Personal memoir
In 2009, Resnick, with Francis Wilkinson, co-authored a book, ''Rubies in the Orchard: How to Uncover the Hidden Gems in Your Business'', which details her life by explaining marketing and business ideas she used to build successful brands. In a ''
U.S. News & World Report'' article, Resnick explained that her book promotes a concept she labels
transparency: "Transparency is very new...you have to be a good citizen of the planet. You have to give back."
Criticisms
Growing water-intensive nut tree crops (a single almond requires of water) in the Central Valley drew criticism during the
2011–17 California drought. According to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Wonderful Company uses "at least 120 billion gallons [] a year, two-thirds on nuts, enough to supply San Francisco's 852,000 residents for a decade." As part of their efforts to minimize this impact, the Resnicks have been investing heavily in the growth of the local economy and nutrition centers. As ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' notes, "in Lost Hills there are new health centers, new pre-K facilities, new housing projects, new gardens, new sidewalks and lights, a new community center and a new soccer field." In addition, the Resnicks own a majority stake in the Kern Water Bank, "one of California's largest underground water storage facilities. It is capable of storing 500 billion gallons [] of water. They have also partnered with the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project, State Water Project to bring water to Kern County, spending $35 million in recent years to buy up more water from nearby districts to replenish the Central Valley's supplies.
[Forbes Magazine: America's Nuttiest Billionaire Couple: Amid Drought, Stewart And Lynda Resnick Are Richer Than Ever]
November 23, 2015
At the same time as exporting almonds to Asia and other locations, they import Fiji bottled water from the South Pacific. Some foreign conservationists criticize the Resnicks for "hogging the archipelago's precious water supply... while island natives didn't always have water to drink themselves, due to crumbling and insufficient infrastructure."
However, local officials support the investment Fiji water makes in the economy as "a critical contributor to the
Fijian economy... and a gift to the Fijian tourism industry."
In addition, their claims for the
POM pomegranate drink have been contested. According to ''Forbes'', "The
Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in 2010 that the Resnicks' POM Wonderful had used
deceptive advertising
False advertising is defined as the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally (or recklessly) to promote the sale of property, goods, or servic ...
when marketing the
antioxidant-rich drink as being able to treat, prevent or reduce the risk of
heart disease,
prostate cancer and
erectile dysfunction. In 2012 a federal judge agreed that some of the ads were misleading. In 2013 FTC commissioners denied the Resnicks' appeal. In October 2015, the Resnicks asked the Supreme Court to take the case."
In May 2016 the Supreme Court declined to take the case.
"LA Times: Pom Wonderful case not wonderful enough, Supreme Court says"
May 4, 2016
References
External links
*
Lynda Resnick's Huffington Post column
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resnick, Lynda
American business executives
American women business executives
American company founders
American women company founders
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
The Wonderful Company
Living people
American billionaires
Female billionaires
American bloggers
American women bloggers
American women philanthropists
Philanthropists from California
Jewish American philanthropists
People associated with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Businesspeople from Philadelphia
People from Beverly Hills, California
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
1943 births
Harriton High School alumni
20th-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesswomen
21st-century American Jews