Charles Bronfman
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Liquor
- Industry
- Food & Beverage
- Residence
- Palm Beach, Florida
- Education
- McGill University (Bachelor of Arts/Science)
- Marital Status
- Widowed, Remarried
- Children
- 2
Biography
In 2000, Charles Bronfman and his nephew Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold their family's spirits and alcohol giant Seagram to Vivendi for $30 billion.
His father Samuel Bronfman, a Russian immigrant to Canada, started a small distillery in 1924 and eventually bought out competitor Seagram.
Since the sale, Charles, who once co-chaired Seagram, has turned toward philanthropy, authoring two books on the matter and signing The Giving Pledge.
Bronfman has given away or pledged at least $350 million, mostly toward promotion of Canadian culture and the Jewish community's connection to Israel.
Bronfman's son, Stephen, runs Claridge, the Montreal-based private investment firm that Charles founded in 1987.
About
Bronfman is one of the main benefactors of Taglit-Birthright Israel, which sends Jewish youth from North America on free educational tours of Israel.
Bronfman's daughter Ellen and her husband Andrew Hauptman own the major league soccer team the Chicago Fire.