Laurence Tisch facts for kids

Laurence Alan Tisch (born March 5, 1923 – died November 15, 2003) was an American businessman and investor. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the CBS television network from 1986 to 1995. With his brother, Bob Tisch, he was a co-owner of Loews Corporation, a large company that owned many different businesses.

Early Life and Education

Laurence Tisch was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 5, 1923. His parents were Sadye and Al Tisch. His grandparents had moved to the United States from Ukraine and Poland. His father owned a clothing factory and two summer camps.

Laurence was a very smart student. He graduated from New York University when he was only 18 years old. By the time he was 20, he had earned a master's degree in business from the University of Pennsylvania.

Starting His Business Career

In 1946, Laurence made his first big business move. He bought a large winter resort in Lakewood, New Jersey. His parents helped him with the money, giving him $125,000 to start. Two years later, his brother Bob joined him. This began a long partnership between them. Laurence focused on the money side of the business, while Bob managed the daily operations.

Their first hotel was very successful. Over the next ten years, the Tisch brothers bought many more hotels. They owned hotels in Atlantic City and the Catskill Mountains.

Building the Loews Corporation

In 1960, the Tisch brothers used the money from their successful hotels to buy Loews Theaters. This was one of the biggest movie theater chains at the time. Laurence and Bob became the co-chairmen of the company. They saw that the land where the old theaters were built was very valuable. They later tore down many of these theaters to build new apartments and hotels, which made them a lot of money.

The brothers soon expanded their business into many different areas. In 1968, Loews bought Lorillard, which was the fifth-largest tobacco company in the United States. It owned popular cigarette brands like Kent and Newport. In 1974, they bought a major share in an insurance company called CNA Financial Corporation. This was also a very successful move. They also bought the Bulova Watch Company.

Through these purchases, Laurence Tisch helped build Loews into a very profitable company. By 1980, Loews owned 14 hotels, 67 movie theaters, CNA Financial, Bulova, and Lorillard. Its income grew from $100 million in 1970 to more than $3 billion in 1980. By 2002, the year before Laurence Tisch passed away, Loews had an income of over $17 billion.

Leading CBS Television

In 1986, the CBS Inc. television network was facing attempts by other companies to buy it. CBS invited Laurence Tisch to invest in the company to help stop these attempts. Tisch spent $750 million to buy a large part of CBS and joined its board of directors. With the support of William S. Paley, who founded CBS, Tisch was later named the company's president and CEO.

The footstone of Laurence Tisch

During his time at CBS, Laurence Tisch made changes to save money. He reduced staff and budgets in the news department. CBS also sold off parts of the company that were not related to TV broadcasting. For example, in 1986, he sold the book publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston. In 1987, he sold the CBS magazine division and the CBS Music Group, which was one of the largest record companies in the world, to Sony for $2 billion.

In 1995, Westinghouse Electric bought CBS for about $5.4 billion. Laurence Tisch's ownership in CBS earned him $2 billion from this sale. Even though the value of CBS stock increased by 15% each year during his time, CBS remained in third place among the big three national TV networks. Some people felt that Tisch did not fully understand the TV business.

Giving Back: Philanthropy

The grave of Laurence Tisch in Westchester Hills Cemetery

Laurence Tisch was a very generous person. He gave large amounts of money to many organizations. These included the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, the NYU Medical Center, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. He gave $4.5 million to create the Tisch Children's Zoo in Central Park.

From 1978 to 1998, Laurence Tisch was the chairman of the board of trustees at New York University. He helped the university raise $1 billion and made many improvements. He also served as a former president of the United Jewish Appeal of New York.

The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University is named after Laurence and his brother Bob. They donated money to buy a building for the school. Tisch's donations also helped create a special teaching position in law at the university. There is also a Tisch Hall at the Stern School of Business and a Tisch Hospital at the NYU Medical Center.

A professorship (a special teaching position) for history and economics at Harvard University is also named after him because of his generosity to that school.

His Family

Laurence Tisch married Wilma "Billie" Stein in 1948. They had four sons:

• Andrew H. Tisch
• Daniel R. Tisch – He manages a family fund and is on the board of New York University. He is the father of David Tisch.
• James S. Tisch
• Thomas Jonah Tisch – He works as a partner at a private investment group in New York City.

All four of his sons attended Suffield Academy in Connecticut.

Death

Laurence Tisch passed away on November 15, 2003, at the age of 80. He died from gastroesophageal cancer. He was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.