Sidney Kimmel

Sidney Kimmel
Born 1928 (age 87–88)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Residence California
Nationality American
Education Temple University (dropped out)
Occupation businessman
Known for founder of the Jones Apparel Group
Net worth Increase $1.35 billion (Sept 2015)[1]
Spouse(s) Caroline Davis

Sidney J. Kimmel (born 1928) is founder of the Jones Apparel Group,[2] philanthropist[2] and film producer.[3] Some of his many films include Death at a Funeral and The Kite Runner.[3][4] He ranked number 655 in the Forbes list of the richest people alive in 2010.[5]

Personal life

Kimmel was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a cab driver.[6][7][8] He attended Temple University but did not finish.[9] He now lives in California with his wife Caroline Davis, the former wife of Leonard Tose.[10] Kimmel is featured on Old Jews Telling Jokes.[7]

Career

Kimmel founded Jones Apparel Group in 1970 while working at W. R. Grace and Company. Five years later, he purchased the company with a partner. Notable lines produced by Kimmel include: Jones New York, Evan-Picone, 9 West; licensing deals with Ralph Lauren. He stepped down as chief executive officer of Jones in 2002 and sold most of his shares in the publicly traded company, but remained chairman of the board of directors until the sale of the company to Sycamore Partners in 2014. He owns art, real estate, a movie production outfit Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, and a small stake in the professional NBA basketball team Miami Heat.[9]

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Founded in 2004, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE) is a Los Angeles-based production, finance and distribution company headed by Kimmel. Films produced include SKE and Screen Gems' 2010 remake Death at a Funeral, The Kite Runner (2007), United 93, Breach, Lars and the Real Girl, Adventureland, Death at a Funeral, Synecdoche, New York, and Gone (2012), Age of Adaline.

Philanthropy

Kimmel is an active philanthropist with an emphasis on healthcare, education, arts and culture. His goal is to donate $1 billion in total throughout his lifetime.[2][11]

In 1993, Kimmel founded the Sidney Kimmel Foundation. The foundation's Cancer Research division pledged to contribute $120 million to institutions serving healthcare, education, arts and culture. Later, in 2001, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research donated $150 million to Johns Hopkins University. The donation became the largest single gift ever received by the University, and was directed toward the development of a residence for cancer patients undergoing extended treatment. The gift inspired the university to name the residence the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. In total Kimmel has his name attached to four separate cancer-research centers in Philadelphia, San Diego and Baltimore.[2][11] The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital[6] as well as the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital carry his name. The Jefferson Medical College was renamed the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in June 2014, following a $110 million grant from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation, the fifth-largest ever gift to a medical school.[12] As of April 2003, Kimmel and the Sidney Kimmel Foundation had donated an estimated $400 million.[2]

Kimmel has also contributed over $35 million[2][11] to the center for the performing arts in Philadelphia, which is now named The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and is home to the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra. Other contributions from Kimmel include a $5 million donation to The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia; a $20 million donation to Raymond and Ruth Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia and $25 million for the establishment of a new prostate and urological cancer center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.[11] In 2003 Kimmel pledged $25 million to The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. The construction was said to have cost in total $100 million, and opened in 2006 on the museum's existing site facing Independence Mall.[2][11][13] Kimmel donated $25 million to Stand Up To Cancer.

Support for cold fusion research

Kimmel has given $5.5 million to the University of Missouri to create the Sidney Kimmel Institute for Nuclear Renaissance, SKINR, where researchers will "figure out why excess heat has been observed when hydrogen or deuterium interacts with materials such as palladium, nickel or platinum under extreme conditions.", Originally named “cold fusion,” nowadays the name low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR) is also used.[14]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Sidney Kimmel September 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The $1 billion man. Philadelphia Business Journal, accessed December 28, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Sidney Kimmel. Internet Movie Database, accessed on May 22, 2011
  4. ↑ David M. Halbfinger: A Film Producer Guided More by His Heart Than by His Calculator. The New York Times, December 12, 2007, accessed on May 22, 2011
  5. ↑ Sidney Kimmel – Non-Executive Chairman of the Board – Jones Group, Inc. Forbes, 2011, accessed on November 9, 2011
  6. 1 2 About Sidney Kimmel. Johns Hopkins Medicine, accessed on May 25, 2011
  7. 1 2 Old Jews Telling Jokes: "Sexual Exploits"
  8. ↑ Silbiger, Steve The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to the Enduring Wealth of a People p. 90
  9. 1 2 The World's Billionaires – #1014 Sidney Kimmel. Forbes, 2011, accessed on November 9, 2011
  10. ↑ Philly.com: "The Man Behind The Name On Arts Center" By Peter Dobrin and Stephen Seplow June 14, 2000
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Sidney Kimmel's Philanthropy page. Faces of Philanthropy, accessed December 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Kimmel donates $110M to Jefferson" - Philadelphia Inquirer 18-Jun-2014
  13. ↑ Announcements. National Museum of American Jewish History, accessed on December 28, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Billionaire helps fund MU energy research" - Columbia Tribune 10-Feb-2012
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