Eli M. Black

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Eli M. Black
Born
Elihu Menashe Blachowitz

(1921-04-09)April 9, 1921
Poland
DiedFebruary 3, 1975(1975-02-03) (aged 53)
New York City, U.S.
EducationYeshiva University (BA)
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseShirley Lubell
Children2, including Leon Black
FamilyBenedict I. Lubell (brother-in-law)
Grace Borgenicht Brandt (sister-in-law)
Benjamin Black, Joshua Black, Alexander Black, and Victoria Black (grandchildren)[1]

Elihu Menashe Blachowitz (April 9, 1921 – February 3, 1975) was an American businessman. He controlled the

United Brands Company.[2] His son Leon Black co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management
.

Early life and education

Born Elihu Menashe Blachowitz in Poland, he immigrated to the United States as a child. He attended Yeshiva University, and graduated at the top of his class in 1940.[2] He also received training to be an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and served as the rabbi of a congregation in Woodmere, New York for three and a half years prior to entering business.[3]

Business career

Black's business career began in investment banking with

meatpacking company. AMK joined the nation's top 500 companies in 1967. In September 1968, Black bought 10% of the outstanding shares of United Fruit on the open market, while outbidding other companies, and gained a controlling interest.[2]

In 1970, AMK merged with

Hurricane Fifi in 1974, which destroyed many of its banana plantations in Honduras. In 1974, United Brands reported losses of $40 million for the first three quarters of the year. Black struggled to keep the company solvent, and in December United Brands announced that it was selling its interest in Foster Grant, Inc.
for $70 million.

Death

On February 3, 1975, Black went to his office on the forty-fourth floor of the

Honduran president Oswaldo López Arellano under authorization by Black in order to obtain a reduction of taxes on banana exports.[5]

After Black's death, Seymour Milstein and Paul Milstein bought into United Fruit.[6]

Personal life

Black was married to artist Shirley Lubell (sister of Oklahoma oil executive

Apollo Management
.

Black served as a trustee of the

Commentary Magazine publication committee.[4] The Eli M. Black Lifelong Learning Center at the Park Avenue Synagogue is named in his honor.[8]

Cultural references

The 1994 film The Hudsucker Proxy included a scene resembling Black's suicide.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bio, businesschronicler.com. Accessed March 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Prettying Up Chiquita". Time. September 3, 1973. Retrieved 2008-08-22. ...in the late 1960s helped combine a group of small manufacturing companies into AMK Corp. As AMK chairman, he quickly transformed the company into an $840 million-a-year giant by acquiring John Morrell & Co., an ailing meat packer. He then noticed that United Fruit was ripe for picking....
  3. ^ a b St. Petersburg Times: "Violent Death Contradicted Executives' Quiet Life" by Peter T. Kilbourne February 19, 1975
  4. ^ a b "44‐Story Plunge Kills Head of United Brands". The New York Times. February 4, 1975.
  5. ^ "Direct Bribe Bid is Laid To Black". The New York Times. May 17, 1975.
  6. ISBN 9780300128079
    .
  7. New York Times
    . 17 November 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. The New York Jewish Week
    .
  9. ^ Dalton, Stephen (2007-06-21). "Film Choice". The Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-17.

Further reading

  • "Eli Black's Rites Attended by 500", The New York Times, February 6, 1975.
  • Peter T. Kilborn, "Suicide of Big Executive: Stress of Corporate Life", The New York Times, February 14, 1975.
  • Thomas P. McCann, On the Inside, Beverley, Massachusetts: Quinlan Press, 1987.
    ISBN 0-933341-53-9
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