“The secret of my success is that I hire people smarter than I am.”~Leon G. Cooperman
Leon G. Cooperman. Photo: Forbes
Leon G. Cooperman was born on April 25, 1943 in the South Bronx to Jewish parents. His father worked as a plumber but ensured his son focused on studies and dreamt big. On completion of his studies from Hunter College in Manhattan in 1965, Cooperman started his career at Xerox as a quality control engineer and later he pursued and completed an M.B.A. degree from Columbia Business School in 1967. Having an MBA degree, he joined the American multinational investment banking firm Goldman Sachs where he served for long 25 years on various positions – as a General Partner and as the Chairman and CEO of the Asset Management. In 1991, he took retirement from his position at Goldman Sachs and founded his own management company called Omega Advisors where he currently serves as the Chairman and CEO.
In 2012, Bloomberg Markets Magazine enlisted him in their 50 Most Influential list and Forbes ranked him 634th Billionaire in the world and 224th richest in United States With $2.2 Billion net worth.
Philanthropic works:
In 2012, Leon G. Cooperman donated a ‘$20 million life insurance policy’ to the Jewish Community Foundation and it is considered to be the largest gift ever given to that organization. In the same year he donated $25 million to Columbia Business School from where he completed his studies. He has also donated to the NJ Performing Arts Center, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Paul Tudor Jones’ Robin Hood Foundation, the United Jewish Appeal and the Treasurer of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
