Norman Braman

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Norman Braman
Born (1932-08-23) August 23, 1932 (age 91)
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Residence Miami, Florida
Nationality United States
Known for Owner of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985-1994
Net worth Decrease US $ 1.89 billion (June 2015)[1]
Spouse(s) Irma Miller
Children Debra Wechsler
Suzi Lustgarten

Norman Braman (born August 23, 1932) is an auto dealer and former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.[citation needed] Norman and his brother-in-law, Ed Leibowitz, officially became the owners of the Eagles on April 29, 1985.[citation needed] Norman owned 65 percent of the team while Ed owned 35 percent until July 16, 1986 when Norman bought the rest of the team from Ed. Braman sold the team to movie executive Jeffrey Lurie in 1994.[citation needed]

Early life and education

Braman was born in 1932 in West Chester, Pennsylvania,[2] and grew up in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia, where his father owned a barbershop. Braman's parents were both Jews who emigrated from Europe. His Romanian-born mother was a seamstress and his Polish father a barber.[3] Braman was a water boy in his teenage years at the Eagles training camp, which was then in West Chester. During the season he would sneak into Shibe Park to watch the team play.[4] Braman attended West Philadelphia High School and graduated from Temple University in 1955 with a degree in business administration.[5]

Career

He began his career in 1955 in the marketing and sales department for Seagram's Distributors.[citation needed] In 1957, he founded Keystone Stores, a chain of self-service department stores, in Philadelphia.[citation needed] In 1964, he organized Philadelphia Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics, a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and was President and Chief Executive Officer.[citation needed] In 1972 he bought a Cadillac dealership in Tampa.[citation needed] Three years later he bought another in Miami and today he is CEO of Braman Enterprises, an umbrella company for his automotive businesses that include 23 car dealerships in Florida and Colorado.[citation needed] The dealerships sell upscale cars such as Acura, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes, MINI, Porsche and Rolls-Royce, as well as Mile High Honda - Denver, Hyundai and Kia.[6]

In 1982, he led a successful campaign against a city sales tax that would have renovated the Miami Orange Bowl for Dolphins owner Joe Robbie. From 1985 to 1994, he owned the Philadelphia Eagles football team, having purchased it from Leonard Tose.[citation needed] During Braman's time as owner, the Eagles were NFL NFC Eastern Division champion in 1988 and won at least 10 games for five straight years through 1993.[citation needed]

Braman served on the Board of Governors of various institutions.[citation needed] In 1999, he helped defeat then-County Mayor Alex Penelas campaign for a one-cent sales tax that could have generated billions of dollars to spend on mass transit, while potentially hurting automobile sales.[7] Currently, he operates various car dealerships in both Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County, Florida.

He recently filed a lawsuit against the Florida Marlins and others over their plans to build a new ballpark[citation needed]. In all seven arguments however, Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen ruled in favor of the Marlins and Miami-Dade County, allowing construction to proceed.[citation needed] Braman however says that he is ready to fight his case as far as the Supreme Court.[citation needed]

Politics

He financially supported a recall election against Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez because of a huge property tax increase and pay hikes to Alvarez's top staffers.[citation needed] On March 15, 2011 close to 90% of those that turned out to vote that day in Miami-Dade County, voted to recall the mayor. It is believed to be one of the most lopsided recall elections in the history of American elections.[8]

Braman is a supporter of Marco Rubio,[9] and is considering spending anywhere between US$10 million to US$25 million in support of his 2016 presidential campaign.[10] According to the acknowledgements in his biography, Rubio has thanked Braman for being a supporter, and Braman has employed at one time or another Marco Rubio's wife,[11] Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, at Braman Family Charitable Foundation.[12]

Personal life

Braman is married to Irma Miller.[13] They have two daughters:[14] Debra Wechsler and Suzi Lustgarten.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Norman Braman March 2014
  2. ↑ The American Presidency Project, Nomination of Norman Braman To Be Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization September 28, 1981
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/391275.html
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-marco-rubios-wife-jeanette-dousdebes-shares-surprising/story?id=30306521
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lebanon Daily News: "Sophie Miller Obituary" on December 6, 2009
  14. ↑ The Florida House of Representatives House Resolution 9123 - A resolution honoring Norman Braman for his philanthropy on behalf of the people of the State of Florida | 2008
  15. ↑ The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation: A New Center of Excellence - The Suzi and Scott Lustgarten Center for GI Motility retrieved March 24, 2013

External links

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