For Harry Weinberg, business was a talent he learned early in life. Born in 1908 in Sambur, Galicia, Mr. Weinberg moved to the United States with his family at the age of four. At the age of ten, the young entrepreneur could be seen on the streets of downtown Baltimore selling souvenirs to parade-goers who were celebrating the end of World War I.
Just as Mr. Weinberg showed exceptional business acumen early in life, so too did he display compassion and generosity at a young age. In the late 1930's, while still a young married man with an infant son, he unhesitatingly signed affidavits of support, pledging his then meager assets to enable many German Jews to reach safe haven in America.
Although he had no formal education past the sixth grade, assiduous application of his innate genius and outstanding work ethic allowed him to accumulate a vast fortune for the benefit of, in his words, "the poor people." At one time he was the largest individual landowner in Hawaii. Simultaneously he headed a diverse intra-urban transportation empire with his wife, caused the creation of and provided the initial funding for the charitable foundation, which he early declared was to become the recipient of the fruits of his life's work.
Since the inception in 1959, the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has continued to grow and support myriad institutions throughout the world. Today that foundation is one of the largest such institutions in the United States, with assets of approximately $2 billion.
Harry Weinberg passed away in 1990, a little more than a year after the death of his wife. Their work lives on through the charitable endeavors of the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc.
