Philly-area philanthropist H.F. Lenfest dies at 88
The Associated Press | AP
PHILADELPHIA — H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, who made a $1 billion fortune in the cable industry and gave almost all of it away, supporting schools, museums, journalism and the arts in Philadelphia and beyond, died Sunday, a family spokesman said.
Gerry Lenfest was He was taken Sunday from his Rittenhouse Square home to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead of complications from chronic illness, said Fred Stein. Stein will handle a memorial service planned in Philadelphia in September.
“There is likely not an organization or charity in Philadelphia that didn’t benefit from the Lenfest family’s generosity in some way,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. “Gerry was a great human being and an even better citizen.”
Philanthropy: Lenfest and his wife, Marguerite, made about $ billion when they sold Suburban Cable to Comcast Corp. in The Lenfests immediately set out to give away the fortune. By , as he stepped in to help Philadelphia’s ailing newspapers, Gerry Lenfest estimated he had given away $ billion.
“Money is a responsibility when you have that kind of wealth. I’v
Harold FitzGerald Lenfest Edit Profile
Harold FitzGerald Lenfest, American former cable television executive, lawyer. Bar: New York
Background
Lenfest, Harold FitzGerald was born on May 29, in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Son of Harold Churchill and Herrena (FitzGerald) Lenfest.
Education
AB, Washington and Lee University, Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Washington and Lee University, Bachelor of Laws, Columbia University,
Doctor of Humane Letters, Columbia University, Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Ursinus College, Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Temple University,
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Widener University, Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Columbia University,
Career
Associate Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York City, Associate counsel Triangle Publications, Philadelphia, , managing director communications division New York City, Editorial director, public Seventeen magazine,
President Suburban Cable television Company. President, Chief Executive Officer Lenfest Communications, Inc., Board directors TCI West, Inc., Seattle, Liberty Media Corporation, Cable Adver
H.F. &#;Gerry&#; Lenfest (Webb Recipient of Honorary Doctorate Degree), and his wife Marguerite.
H. F. “Gerry” Lenfest grew up knowing the value of hard work. His father grew up in Brooklyn but always wanted a farm. When Gerry was 13, his father bought a farm in a remote area in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. This was a real working farm, so Gerry spent much of his time slopping hogs, milking cows, and tending chickens. When he was 17, his father sent him to Iowa to be a farmhand, and at one point Gerry hitchhiked to North Dakota to be a roughneck in an oil field. When he was 19 years old, his father asked him what he wanted to major in in college. When Gerry said he didn’t know, his father said, “Well then, if you don’t know, I won’t send you,” so Gerry went to sea on a T-2 tanker. When he returned in October of , Gerry’s father informed him that he had changed his mind and had enrolled him at Washington and Lee University. Although the semester had already started, he enrolled. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy, then completed law school at Columbia University. After working on Wall Street, he went to work for Walter Annenberg’s Triangle Publications in Philadelp
Gerry Lenfest was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and was raised in the suburbs of New York City. His father sold diesel engines, and his mother was a homemaker. Lenfest remembers those years as happy and family-oriented, but his life changed quickly when his father purchased a farm in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
"Working on a farm was not my dream," says Lenfest. "My father still commuted 60 miles to work each day, so milking the cows and most other chores fell to me." But real tragedy struck shortly afterwards when Lenfest's mother died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. "The loss of my mother was wrenching," says Lenfest. "She was a wonderful mother, and my world changed forever after she passed away."
Lenfest's twin sister was sent away to boarding school, and a woman was hired to take care of Lenfest and to help with the farm work. "My father continued to travel extensively for his job, and I felt completely alone," he says. "I had no vision of a positive future."
Soon, his studies began to suffer. Lenfest was sent away to a private high school in rural Pennsylvania, but he did not do well there either and was told not to return. Finally, his father was able to get h
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