1675-4 Sheraton/BalHarbor Americana mh LAURENCE A. TISCH CO-FOUNDER OF LOEWS, EX-CHAIRMAN OF CBS 11/16/2003
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 2003, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, November 16, 2003 EDITION: Broward
SECTION: Broward & State PAGE: 4B LENGTH: 87 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Laurence A. Tisch (n)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: New York Times Service
MEMO: DEATHS
LAURENCE A. TISCH CO-FOUNDER OF LOEWS, EX-CHAIRMAN OF CBS
Laurence A. Tisch, the self-made New York billionaire who was hailed as a
white knight for saving CBS from a hostile takeover and then reviled for
gutting the network, died Saturday at Tisch Hospital of the New York
University Medical Center. He was 80.
The cause of his death was complications from gastric cancer, said his
wife, Wilma "Billie" Stein.
Tisch and his brother, Bob, built up and controlled Loews Corp., a
conglomerate of hotels, insurance, cigarette manufacturers, movie theaters,
oil tankers and watchmaking that served as a vehicle for other investments.
Lawrence Tisch had a reputation not only for his Midas touch, but also as a
man who disdained the glitz and arrogance that so many other magnates embraced
in the 1980s.
He spent his leisure time with his family, in frequent discussions of
Jewish traditions with Talmudic scholars and on the boards of cultural
institutions in New York City.
These credentials made Tisch the consensus candidate in 1986 to rescue CBS
from an assortment of corporate raiders and from conservative politicians who
accused the network of a liberal bias.
Through Loews, Tisch bought a strong minority stake in CBS and was invited
to join its board. Within months, he was elevated to acting chairman and chief
executive.
In the end, Tisch defended his 10-year leadership of CBS by noting that its
sale in 1995 to the Westinghouse Electric Corp. brought a windfall of profits
to shareholders, including Loews, his family-controlled company, which ended
up $1 billion richer.
But a legion of critics faulted Tisch for selling off some of CBS's most
valuable assets, failing to develop top-rated programs, dismissing too many
employees and leaving the company far behind in terms of audience and
advertising revenues.
In the years after the sale of CBS, Tisch became increasingly involved in
philanthropic efforts, especially on behalf of his alma mater, NYU.
He helped raise almost $2 billion for the university, including more than
$40 million from his own family's donations.
Tisch was born in Brooklyn. His father, Al Tisch, a former All-American
basketball player at the City University of New York, owned a garment factory
and two summer camps that his wife, Sadye, helped him run.
Laurence graduated cum laude from NYU at 18, and a year later earned a
master's degree in industrial management from the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, he served in the Office of
Strategic Services.
In 1946, Tisch's parents entrusted him with $125,000 to invest.
He used the money to buy a lackluster New Jersey hotel that he found in the
Business Opportuni "es section of The New York Times.
His brother ob, "oined him as a full partner in 1948, and over the next
dozen years, they acquired a dozen hotels in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
There was a natural division of labor between the two siblings: Larry
plotted overall financial strategy while Bob concentrated on management.
In 1960, the brothers gained control of Loews, one of the larger
movie-house chains in the country.
What attracted Tisch to the company were its underlying real estate assets
- at the time a business concept that many investors tended to overlook.
In 1968, he bought Lorillard, and shed its nontobacco interests to boost
profit margins.
In 1974, he acquired a controlling stake in the CAN Financial Corp. , a
nearly bankrupt Chicago-based insurance company.
Within a few years he transformed it into a company with $16.5 billion in
assets and an A-plus credit rating.
Even as his fortune and reputation rose, Tisch's lifestyle remained little
changed. He and his wife, Billie, whom he married in 1948, lived in an
unpretentious Fifth Avenue apartment.
They spent weekends in a home in Rye, N.Y. , close to properties owned by
their four sons, Andrew, Dan, James and Tom.
In 1985, Ted Turner, the cable television entrepreneur, tried
unsuccessfully to acquire CBS with a package of high-risk securities.
To discourage a hostile takeover, CBS invited Tisch to invest in the
• company. By mid-1986, Tisch, using Loews as his investment vehicle, acquired
almost 25 percent of CBS for $750 million.
Within months after he took over, Tisch instituted massive cuts in the
network's news division, laying off 230 employees and slashing $30 million
from its budget.
In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corp. agreed to pay $5.4 billion for CBS.
Tisch pointed out that under his leadership, CBS stock had climbed at an
annual rate of almost 15 percent.
In addition to his wife, four sons and brother, Tisch is survived by 15
grandchildren.
KEYWORDS: OBITUARY
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mh CO-FOUNDER OF LOEWS, EX-CHAIRMAN OF CBS 11/16/2003
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 2003, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, November 16, 2003 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro & State PAGE: 4B LENGTH: 63 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Laurence Tisch (a)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK
MEMO: DEATHS
CO-FOUNDER OF LOEWS, EX-CHAIRMAN OF CBS
Laurence A. Tisch, the Loews Corp. co-founder who also spent nine
tumultuous years as head of CBS,. died Saturday. He was 80.
Tisch, a self-made billionaire whose financial empire began with a single
New Jersey resort, suffered from cancer, said Loews spokeswoman Candace Leeds.
At Loews, Tisch oversaw a financial corporation with assets of more than
$70 billion, including a hotel chain, a tobacco company, an insurance firm and
an offshore drilling company.
CHAIRMAN OF CBS
The Brooklyn native served as chief executive officer and chairman of the
board of CBS from 1986-95, a period when the "Tiffany Network" saw its
nightly newscast fall to third place and lost NFL football to the upstart Fox
Network.
When Tisch first took over, he instituted massive cuts in the network's
news division, laying off 230 employees, closing three news bureaus and
slashing $30 million from its budget.
Despite those rocky times, Tisch was remembered fondly Saturday by 60
Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt. "My career flourished under Larry
Tisch, " Hewitt said.
Tisch was just 23 when he made his first investment, purchasing a 300-room
winter resort in Lakewood, N.J. Two years later, his brother Bob joined him in
the business, launching a lifelong partnership between the pair.
Bob was the gregarious front man, dealing with the day-to-day chores, while
Larry tended to handle the finances. Once, at an employee function at Loews
headquarters, Tisch was introduced this way: "For those of you who have never
been to the 17th floor, this is your chairman. "
As the first hotel took off, the Tisch brothers bought hotels in Atlantic
City and the Catskills. Their hotel empire continued to expand, and the Tisch
brothers began investing in Loews Theaters.
In 1961, Tisch gained control of Loews and became its co-chairman with his
brother. The pair soon diversified the business, successfully venturing into a
variety of areas.
Tisch was born March 5, 1923. He graduated from college when he was 18.
After he and his brother took over Loews, the company moved in a variety of
directions. Loews acquired Lorillard, a tobacco company, and the Bulova Watch
Co. Through shrewd acquisitions, Tisch built Loews' revenues from $100 million
in 1970 to more than $3 billion a decade later.
$17 BILLION REVENUES
In 2002, the corporation had revenues of more than $17 billion and assets
of more than $70 billion.
In 1986, when CBS was the target of several hostile takeover attempts,
Tisch stepped in to seize control by spending $800 million for a 24.9 percent
stake of the company.
But the Tisch era was marked by cost-cutting and criticism that he had
damaged the network's reputation and morale. Westinghouse Electric bought CBS
in 1995.
Tisch was also known for his philanthropy, with major donations to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, the NYU Medical Center and
the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Tisch is survived by his wife, Wilma; four sons, Andrew, Daniel, James and
Thomas; and his brother. There was no word on funeral arrangements.
KEYWORDS: OBITUARY
TAG: 0311180324