Morris Mirkin (1919 – June 27, 1985) was an American businessman who founded Budget Rent-a-Car.

Biography

Mirkin 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 in

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, the son of immigrants from Russia. Mirkin served in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1958, he opened the first Budget Rent-a-Car office at Wilshire and Robertson boulevards in Los Angeles. In 1960, he was joined by Jules Lederer and they incorporated the company as Budget Rent-a-Car Corporation. In 1968, they sold Budget to

Transamerica Corporation The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. ...

. Mirkin was a thoroughbred horse breeder with wins including the Hollywood Park Gold Cup and the All-American Handicap at

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of t ...

Personal life

Mirkin was married to Judith Carole Lindenberg on March 9, 1952, and they had three children; Jeffrey Randall Mirkin, Margaux Karen Mirkin and Mitchell Anthony Mirkin. They were divorced in 1976. Mirkin married Claudia Mirkin in 1978; she has four children. He died of cancer on June 27, 1985, at his home 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. Bev ...

. Services were held at

Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...

. Mirkin established the Morris Mirkin Foundation which was dedicated to helping children with learning disabilities.

References

1919 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American Jews American company founders {{US-business-bio-stub