Matthew Bronfman (born July 16, 1959) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. A member of the
Bronfman family
The Bronfman family is a Canadian family, known for its extensive business holdings. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), the most influential Canadian Jew of the mid-20th century, who made a fortune in the alcoholic distille ...
, he is the son of prominent businessman and philanthropist Edgar Bronfman, Sr.
Biography
Bronfman is one of seven children, one of five from Ann (Loeb) and Edgar Miles Bronfman. His mother was the daughter of
John Langeloth Loeb Sr.
John Langeloth Loeb Sr. (November 11, 1902 – December 8, 1996) was an American investor and executive who served as president of Loeb, Rhoades & Company.
Early life and education
Loeb was born to a Jewish family on November 11, 1902, in St ...
(a
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
investment banker
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...
whose company was a predecessor of
Shearson Lehman
Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward ShearsonAmerican Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
) and
Frances Lehman The Lehman family is a prominent family of Jewish German-Americans who founded the financial firm Lehman Brothers. Some were also involved in American politics. Members have married into the prominent Morgenthau, Loeb, and Bronfman families.
The ...
(a member of the
Lehman family The Lehman family is a prominent family of Jewish German-Americans who founded the financial firm Lehman Brothers. Some were also involved in American politics. Members have married into the prominent Morgenthau, Loeb, and Bronfman families.
The ...
that founded the
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in 1981. After working at
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
he attended
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 ...
where he graduated in 1985. Bronfman began his career at
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
and the
Cadillac Fairview Corporation
The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is a Canadian company that invests in, owns, and manages commercial real estate, mainly in Canada and the United States. As of March 2017, the company had 73 properties, encompassing 38 million square feet ...
.
As one of the largest
American Jewish
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...
investors in the
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i economy, Bronfman is also the main shareholder in
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
Israel,
Israel Discount Bank
Israel Discount Bank, Ltd. is a retail bank, commercial bank, private bank and financial services company headquartered in Tel Aviv with 112 branches throughout Israel.
Discount Bank is a public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange und ...
and the
Shufersal
Shufersal ( he, שופרסל), formerly Super-Sol in English and Shufra-Sal in Hebrew, commonly known as Super-sal, is the largest supermarket chain in Israel, with a 20% market share (as of 2018). The company, which was established in 1958, was ...
supermarket chain. He is also the chairman and CEO of BHB holdings, a family holding company. Previously, He was a managing director at ACI Holdings, a private equity firm based in New York.
He is a former director of
Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig, Inc., often known simply as Jenny Craig, is an American weight loss, weight management, and nutrition company. The company has more than 700 weight management centers in Australia, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. The pro ...
Bronfman is the chairman of the international steering committee of
Limmud FSU
Limmud FSU (Former Soviet Union) is an international Jewish education organization that focuses on giving young Russian-speaking Jewish adults the opportunity to revitalize and restore Jewish learning and to strengthen Jewish identity in their ...
, a program focused on strengthening the Jewish identities of Russian-speaking Jews, and the chairman of the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS, which trains Jewish professionals to shape public opinion and policy around the world. He is also the managing principal of the Treetops Foundation, a charity focused on Jewish philanthropy and is on the boards of
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...
and the
Canadian Centre for Architecture
The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA; french: Centre Canadien d'Architecture) is a Architecture museum, museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 1920, rue Baile (1920, Baile Street), between r ...
.
Personal life
Bronfman has been married four times. His first wife was Fiona Woods; they divorced in June 1997. They had three children: Gabriela Talia Bronfman, Eli Miles Bronfman, and Jeremy Samuel Bronfman. In December 1997, he married Lisa Belzberg, daughter of Canadian businessman
Samuel Belzberg
Samuel Belzberg, (June 26, 1928 – March 30, 2018) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.
Biography
Samuel Belzberg was born to a Jewish family in Calgary, AlbertaNew York Daily News: "Divorced Seagram heir steps out with new girlfriend" By Emily Smith May 23, 2016 In April 2017, he married Israeli Melanie Lavie with whom he had his eighth child, James Raphael Bronfman, and his ninth child, Stella Ann Bronfman. He currently resides in Manhattan. His sons Jeremy and Eli founded Lincoln Avenue Capital, a real estate investor and developer in
affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
. His son, Zeke, is the cofounder and CEO of Xed beverages.