Bernard L. Schwartz

Bernard Leon Schwartz (born December 13, 1925) was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Loral Space & Communications for 34 years, Chairman and CEO of K&F Industries, Inc., and president and CEO of Globalstar Telecommunications. He retired from Loral and his positions at its various subsidiaries and affiliates as of March 1, 2006. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, his own investment firm located in Manhattan.

"Bernard Schwartz" redirects here. For the actor born Bernard Schwartz, see Tony Curtis. For the house, see Bernard Schwartz House.
Bernard L. Schwartz
Born
Bernard Leon Schwartz

(1925-12-13) December 13, 1925
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
EducationB.A. City University of New York
OccupationBusinessman
Known forChairman and CEO of Loral Space & Communications
Spouse(s)Irene Zanderer, Denise Jansen
Children2

Biography

Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. Schwartz graduated from Townsend Harris High School in NYC. He holds a B.S. in finance and an honorary doctorate of science from City University of New York.[1] He is a World War II veteran, having served in the US Army Air Corps.[2]

Personal life

Schwartz was married to the former Irene Zanderer and lives in New York City; she died in 2014.[3] They had two daughters and four grandchildren. Schwartz was a member of the United Jewish Appeal Federations's real estate committee.[4]

Professional life

After school, he worked as an accountant eventually becoming a partner at a Wall Street firm. He then went on to serve as a vice president of American President Lines and then president of Reliance Insurance Co. (formerly Leasco) for four years before joining Loral, a New York Stock Exchange-listed manufacturer of satellites and satellite systems, in 1972.

Political activities

Schwartz is a lifelong Democrat. According to NBC News, he was the largest single contributor to the Democratic Party from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, he celebrated his 71st birthday with Bill and Hillary Clinton at the White House.[5] In 1998 Schwartz became embroiled in a campaign donations scandal and an alleged transfer of missile technology to China that occurred in 1996. He was exonerated of any wrongdoing in the campaign finance matter after a Justice Department investigation.[6][7][8] Loral settled the missile transfer matter with the Justice Department in 2002, paying a $14 million fine and admitting no wrongdoing.[9]

In 2016, Schwartz donated US$1 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[10] Schwartz is also in the $5 million - $10 million bracket of donors to the Clinton Foundation.[11]

Foreign Policy

In 2002, the Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellowship in Business and Foreign Policy was established at the Council on Foreign Relations with a gift from the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation. The fellowship was created to focus on the global integration of financial markets and its implications for U.S. economic and foreign policy. Schwartz did not actually become a member of the Council on Foreign Relations until 2003, the following year.

References
  1. Bernard Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis: "About Bernard Schwartz" Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 20, 2015
  2. "Archive of "Bernard L. Schwartz Biography"" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. MPolanco (6 November 2014). "In Memoriam: Fall 2014–Winter 2015".
  4. United Jewish Appeal Federation Real Estate Executive Council: Members Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine retrieved December 20, 2015
  5. Dave Eisenstadt (1 May 1997). "Orbiter of Power". Mother Jones. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. Rempel, William C.; Alan C. Miller (May 23, 2000). "Internal Justice Memo Excuses Loral From Funds Probe..." Los Angeles Times. p. A15. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  7. DAVID JOHNSTON (June 9, 2000). "Justice Dept. Memo Says Donor Was Cleared". The New York Times. Today, a Loral spokesman expressed satisfaction that the documents had finally come to light. We are pleased that the facts in this case have now been made public and that Mr. Schwartz and Loral are shown to be innocent of any wrongdoing, said Thomas B. Ross, a company vice president. [...] Mr. Specter said in an interview that he did not realize at the hearing that Mr. Schwartz had been exonerated by the Justice Department because he had not seen Mr. La Bella's addendum.
  8. Michael Hirsh (2003). At War with Ourselves: Why America is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World. Oxford University Press. pp. 150–. ISBN 978-0-19-515269-2. Bernard Schwartz was exonerated of all wrongdoing when the Justice ...
  9. The Washington Times. January 10, 2002. Loral settles charge it gave China data
  10. "The Top Donors Backing Hillary Clinton's Super PAC". Forbes. May 27, 2016.
  11. "Clinton Foundation". ClintonFoundation. Sep 25, 2019.
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