Jeremy Jacobs
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Jeremy Maurice Jacobs Sr. (born January 21, 1940) is an American
billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
businessman, the owner of the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
and chairman of
Delaware North Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worl ...
. ''
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 re ...
'' magazine ranks him as 481st richest person in the world.


Early life and education

Jacobs was born in 1940, the son of Genevieve (née Bibby) and Louis Jacobs. His mother was of
Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...
descent, and his father was the son of
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 ...
immigrants from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The original
surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
of his family's paternal side was Yakobovitch.Ocala Star Banner: "Fan-tastic Food - Delaware North to Dish Up Treats at New Arena" by John Affleck
September 20, 1996
In 1915, his father and his two brothers, Charles and Marvin, founded a company that first sold concessions in theaters and then expanded to major league ballparks.Success.com: "Boston Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs Works for Peanuts - How he raised his father's concessions company to global heights"
retrieved January 3, 2012
His father took over the company in the 1950s when the health of his brothers faltered and Jeremy took over at age 28 when his father died in 1968. Louis also at one point was the operator at the
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Bis ...
and owned the
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...
of the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
and the
Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
. Jacobs has a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, and attended the six-week
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 ...
Advanced Management Program.


Career


Delaware North

Jacobs owns and operates the business founded by his father and uncles,
Delaware North Delaware North is a global food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 55,000 people worl ...
. Delaware North is a global hospitality and food service business headquartered in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. The company operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gaming and entertainment industries. Delaware North also owns and manages
TD Garden TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Ontario. It opened in 1995 as a replacement for the original Boston Garden and has been k ...
, home to the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
and the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
. It was paid for with Jacobs' own funds. On January 6, 2015, Jacobs relinquished the title of CEO and named Jerry Jacobs Jr. and Louis Jacobs co-CEOs. He also named Charlie Jacobs CEO of Delaware North's Boston Holdings.


Boston Bruins

Jacobs was listed for several years in a row as one of Sports Business Journal's Most Influential People in Sports. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in Western New York in October 2006. Jacobs has owned the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
since 1975. Jacobs represents the club on the NHL's Board of Governors and serves on its Executive Committee. At the NHL Board of Governors meeting in June 2007, Jacobs was elected chairman. He replaced the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
'
Harley Hotchkiss Harley Norman Hotchkiss, (July 12, 1927 – June 22, 2011) was a Canadian business and community leader who was best known for his contributions to health and sports development in Canada. He was part of the consortium that brought the Atlanta ...
, who stepped down after 12 years. After years of disappointing performance, Jacobs replaced numerous general managers and coaches.
Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of T ...
, the longtime president of the team, retired active work and moved into an advisory role. New management included Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien.
Cam Neely Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Neely played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 1996. Nicknamed "'Bam ...
, a former Bruins player, was also lured back to the new organization and was named president. These changes were effective. The Bruins record in the 2008–09 season was the second best in the NHL. In 2011, the Bruins won their first
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
in 39 years after beating the
Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
in a seven-game series. Jacobs was referred to as one of the "most militant hard-line" NHL owners responsible for the 2012–13 lockout.Strang, Katie
"Bruins owner takes shots at NHLPA"
Espn.go.com. January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
Described as "villainous" and a "bully", he was reportedly hated by the players. On the first day of the 2012–13 NHL season after the lockout ended, Jacobs blamed the Players' Association for the season's delay, saying of the union, "There was no expression of a desire to make a deal." Jacobs responded to reports that he was a "hard-liner" in the 2012–13 NHL lockout by saying he put the good of the league ahead of his own interest in keeping the players on the ice. "I'm coming off winning a Stanley Cup (in 2011). I've got a sold-out building. I have a financially sound business. No Debt. Ownership for 37 years," he said. "I'm the last guy that wants to shut this down – absolutely the last one out there." Despite relinquishing the role of CEO to his son Charlie, he remains very active in the team and still holds the title of NHL Chairman of the Board of Governors. ''Forbes'' esimated his net worth to be US$2.8 billion in November 2021.


Philanthropy

In 2007, Jacobs donated $1 million to support an endowed chair in immunology at
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded by surgeon Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. The ...
. The gift was made to Roswell Park's Leaders for Life endowment campaign in honor of Jacobs' brother, the late Dr. Lawrence D. Jacobs, an immunology researcher who died in 2001. The
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...
received a $10 million gift from Jacobs, his wife Margaret, and other family members on June 11, 2008 to establish the Jacobs Institute. The Jacobs Institute supports research and clinical collaboration on the causes, treatment, and prevention of heart and vascular diseases. This gift was also made in honor of his late brother, Lawrence. The Jacobs' gift was at the time the largest single gift ever made to the University at Buffalo. The donation also made the Jacobs family the university's most generous donor, with gifts totaling $18.4 million. Jacobs has also served the University at Buffalo as chairman, trustee, and director of its foundation, chairman of the President's Board of Visitors, advisor to the School of Management, and as chairman of the University at Buffalo Council. The Jacobs family and their company, Delaware North, donated $250,000 to the Martin House Restoration Project in March 2012. They had made an earlier donation of $146,000. The project aims to restore the
Darwin D. Martin House The Darwin D. Martin House Complex is a historic house museum in Buffalo, New York. The property's buildings were designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built between 1903 and 1905. The house is considered to be one of the most imp ...
in
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...
, one of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
's designs. In November 2012, Jacobs and his family announced a $1 million donation to the Say Yes Buffalo Scholarship. Say Yes Buffalo is "an education-based initiative that provides a powerful engine for long-term economic development, which will radically improve the life course of public school students in the City of Buffalo." In 2013, Jacobs paid for a two-year study on the nutrition and food preferences of cancer patients. The study, called the Cancer Nutrition Consortium, focused on patient preferences and issues related to their ability to eat and drink while undergoing cancer treatment, including therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. The consortium aimed to help cancer patients make healthy choices that will support their treatment. On April 17, 2013, Jacobs announced that he had pledged $100,000 on behalf of the Bruins and its players to The One Fund Boston to help victims of the
Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
and their families. Jacobs, his wife, Margaret, and his family gave $30 million to the University at Buffalo's medical school at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The school was renamed the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The donation is the second largest ever in school history. The donation brought the Jacobs family's total contributions to the University at Buffalo to more than $50 million. Jacobs is also heavily involved in the funding of the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
Foundation, which was founded and is chaired by his son Charlie. The Bruins Foundation provides grants to local organizations that seek to improve the lives of children through education, health, athletics, and a broad range of community outreach projects. In July 2015, Jacobs donated $250,000 to Iroquois Central High School in Elma, NY for the improvement of its athletic fields. Part of Jacobs’ East Aurora, NY estate is located in Elma.


Other activities

Jacobs holds honorary doctorates from the University at Buffalo, Canisius College, Johnson and Wales University, and Niagara University, where he was awarded an honorary doctor of commercial science in October 2013. He is currently serving his second term on the
U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for busin ...
Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. Members of the board are selected by the Secretary of Commerce and advise the Secretary on government policies and programs that affect the U.S. travel and tourism industry. Jacobs has made substantial contributions to the presidential campaigns of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
,
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
,
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
,
Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
, and
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
. He reportedly contributed over $650,000 to municipal elections in the village of
Wellington, Florida Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is th ...
. The Jacobs family has been involved in a dispute with developer Mark Bellissimo over proposed development within Wellington's Equestrian Preserve of a major equestrian sports complex near his home in the village. Jacobs also owns an interest in
NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports network, regional sports cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which ow ...
, the New England Sports Network, sharing ownership with John Henry, a friend and owner of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
.


Personal life

Jacobs' father Louis was the owner of many sports teams along with his business empire that included owning the
Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
of the National Basketball League, the
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...
and the
Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...
of the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
, the
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...
of the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
in Minor League Baseball, and the
Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson. In later ...
along with being the owner of the
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Bis ...
and the
Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati Gardens was an indoor arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building at 2250 Seymour Avenue in Bond Hill had a entrance that was decorated with six three-dimens ...
. Jacobs and his wife Margaret reside in
East Aurora, New York East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metr ...
and in
Wellington, Florida Wellington is a village just west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. As of 2019, the city had a population of 65,398 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, making it the most populous village in the state. It is th ...
. They have six children (three sons and three daughters), eighteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Their children are: * Jeremy "Jerry" Maurice Jacobs Jr., co-CEO of Delaware North Companies. In 1990, he married Alice Carroll French, an attorney. *Louis "Lou" Michael Jacobs, co-CEO of Delaware North. In 1989, Louis married Joan Babcook in Buffalo. * Charles "Charlie" Marvin Jacobs, CEO of Delaware North's Boston Holdings. In 1999, Charlie married Kimberly Diane Warren, a model and actress. *Margaret Lynn Jacobs, account executive at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in New York. In 1986, she married John Bartlett Reichenbach of Carlisle, Massachusetts. *Katie Louise Jacobs married James D. Robinson IV in 1992. *Lisann Jane Jacobs married John Victor Holten in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
in 1983. They divorced; Lisann Jacobs is married to Dr. Bruce Platt.


Awards and honors

*2011
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
champion (as owner of the Boston Bruins) *2015 Lester Patrick Award *
Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...
(Class of 2017).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Jeremy 1940 births Living people American billionaires American people of Polish-Jewish descent Boston Bruins owners Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Jewish American sportspeople Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York University at Buffalo alumni Stanley Cup champions Lester Patrick Trophy recipients 21st-century American Jews