Richard James Fox (November 8, 1927 – February 9, 2020) was an American property developer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Fox Companies, a property construction, development and management company in Eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and Southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and Planalytics, a weather analytics company.

Early life

Richard J. Fox was born in 1927. He grew up in the

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

- Mount Airy neighborhoods of

Philadelphia 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 ...

. Fox was educated at the Central High School, a public high school from which he graduated in 1945. Fox enlisted in the Navy to serve in World War II, where he learned how to fly, which became a lifelong passion of his. He graduated from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in 1950, where he received a bachelor of science degree in engineering. He served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

of 1950–1953.

Career

Fox co-founded Fox Companies, a property construction, development and management firm in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, with his brother Robert. He served as its Chairman. The firm has developed many buildings, including the

Wachovia Center The Wells Fargo Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia. It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the ...

. Additionally, they developed the town of Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Fox served as the Chairman of Planalytics, a weather analytics company., and Quantum Pest Management, a revolutionary, non-chemical, insect management technology.

Political activity

Fox was a co-founder of the

Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), formerly the National Jewish Coalition, founded in 1985, is a political group in the United States that supports Jewish Republicans. The organization has more than 47 chapters throughout the United States. ...

. He served as its first Chairman, and served as its honorary chairman. Fox served as the Chairman of the

Jewish Policy Center The Jewish Policy Center, founded in 1985 and located in Washington, D.C. is a 501c(3) non-profit think tank providing perspectives and analysis by leading scholars and academics on fields such as "American defense capability, U.S.-Israel relations ...

. He was the Pennsylvania State Chairman for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980, and the national finance chair of

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

's 1988 presidential campaign. Fox served as the co-chairman of the New Horizon Council.

Philanthropy

Fox served on the Board of Trustees of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

continuously for 53 years. He served as its Chairman for 17 years from 1982 to 1999, when the

Fox School of Business and Management The Richard J. Fox School of Business and Management is the business school of Temple University. Located in Philadelphia, the Fox School offers several Master of Business Administration programs (full-time MBA, part-time MBA, international MBA, e ...

was named in his honor. He was the 1996 recipient of an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Death

Fox died from natural causes on February 9, 2020, in his Center City Philadelphia apartment at the age of 92.

Personal life

Fox was married to his wife, Geraldine for 64 years. Together they had 5 children and 7 grandchildren. Fox flew planes for 64 years from the age of 17 until he stopped at the age of 81. He enjoyed politics, Jewish affairs and golf.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Richard J. 1927 births 2020 deaths Businesspeople from Philadelphia Georgia Tech alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War American chairpersons of corporations American philanthropists Temple University people 21st-century American Jews