Hyman Golden facts for kids

Hyman Golden (born June 11, 1923 – died September 14, 2008) was one of the people who started the famous Snapple Beverage Corporation. He was the company's chairman when Snapple's juice drinks and teas became very popular across the country in the late 1980s.

About Hyman Golden

Hyman Golden was born into a Jewish family in Passaic, New Jersey. His father was an immigrant from Romania. Hyman grew up in Middle Village, Queens, a part of New York City. He served in the United States Air Force when he was younger.

Early Life and Career

Hyman Golden did not have a lot of formal schooling. One of his first jobs was washing windows for his father. Later, he worked as a business broker. This means he helped people buy and sell businesses. He then started a cleaning and maintenance company with Leonard Marsh. Leonard was his wife Mitzi's brother.

Starting Snapple

In 1972, Hyman Golden, Leonard Marsh, and Arnold Greenberg started a company called Unadulterated Food Products. Arnold Greenberg owned a health food store in Manhattan's East Village. Their goal was to sell fruit juices to health food stores. Leonard Marsh and Arnold Greenberg had been friends since they were kids in Brooklyn.

In the early 1980s, they introduced a new line of drinks. The name "Snapple" came from a carbonated apple juice they made. The company's iced tea drinks, which came out in 1987, made sales go way up.

Snapple's Growth and Success

The company first started in Brooklyn. As it grew, they moved their main office to Valley Stream, New York, where the partners lived. Snapple grew very, very fast.

In April 1992, a company called Thomas H. Lee Company bought Snapple for $140 million. Even after this, Hyman Golden and his two partners still owned one-third of the company. The year before, Snapple had made $100 million in sales.

In December 1992, Snapple started selling its shares to the public for $10 each. This means anyone could buy a small piece of the company. In 1993, the shares split, so if you had one share, you now had two.

In November 1994, the Quaker Oats Company bought Snapple for $1.7 billion. Hyman Golden retired as Snapple's chairman in 1995. Over the years, Snapple was sold to different companies many times. Today, it is part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

Later Life

Hyman Golden passed away on September 14, 2008. He was 85 years old. He died in Great Neck, New York, due to problems from a stroke.