Dirk Edward Ziff

Dirk Ziff was born in 1965. His mother was Barbara Ingrid Beitz, an ethnic German whose parents were awarded the "Righteous among the Nations" honorific by the State of Israel for providing refuge and risking their lives to save Jews during World War II.[http://yad-vashem.org.il/yv/en/righteous/stories/beitz.asp Yad Vashem: The Righteous Among the Nations: Berthold and Elsa Beitz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308115248/http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/yv/en/righteous/stories/beitz.asp |date=2013-03-08 }} retrieved April 1, 2012 His father was the Jewish American media magnate William Ziff Jr. (d. 2006), who had built the Ziff-Davis magazine empire founded by William Bernard Ziff Sr. that included titles such as Popular Aviation, PC Magazine, and Car and Driver.[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/11/business/for-ziffs-sale-is-a-family-affair.html New York Times: "For Ziffs, Sale Is a Family Affair" by Geraldine Fabrikant] June 11, 1994

In 1981, Ziff graduated from the Trinity School in New York City where his father served as trustee.[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/classified/paid-notice-deaths-ziff-william.html New York Times: "Paid Notice: Deaths ZIFF, WILLIAM"] September 13, 2006 He later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1988 and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.{{Cite web|title=Center for Climate and Life to Receive $2 Million from Ziff Family|url=https://giving.columbia.edu/center-climate-and-life-receive-2-million-ziff-family|access-date=2021-09-02|website=giving.columbia.edu|language=en}}

Ziff and his brothers Daniel and Robert inherited the family fortune in 1994 after their father sold 95% of the business to Forstmann Little for $1.4 billion and retired. William Ziff Jr. had originally wanted to pass the company on to his sons but they were not interested.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/28/business/forstmann-to-acquire-ziff-davis.html|title=Forstmann To Acquire Ziff-Davis|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=1994-10-28|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-10-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} Instead, they formed New York City-based Ziff Brothers Investments, investing their inheritances broadly across equities, debt, real estate, commodities, private equity and hedge funds. They also provided seed money to fund manager Daniel Och in exchange for a 10% stake in Och-Ziff Capital Management which went public in 2007.[https://www.forbes.com/profile/dirk-ziff/ "Forbes Profile: Dirk Ziff"] October 2017 The brothers dissolved Ziff Brothers Investments in 2014 and now invest independently.

In 2006, he served as a founding board member of the Robin Hood Foundation.{{Cite web|first=Andy |last=Serwer |authorlink= |title= The legend of Robin Hood - How the leaders of the hedge fund world have banded together to fight poverty - taking gobs of money from the rich, applying strict financial metrics in giving it away, and making philanthropy cool among the business elite. |publisher=CNN Money|date=September 8, 2006 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/09/18/8386204/index.htm |accessdate=}} In 2013, the Association of Surfing Professionals (since renamed the World Surf League) was acquired by ZoSea, an investment vehicle owned by Ziff along with Paul Speaker and Terry Hardy.{{Cite web|url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-27/tide-turns-in-professional-surfing/5288890|title = ASP World Surfing Tour taken over by US media company Zo-Sea for 2014 season|date = 28 February 2014|accessdate = 30 August 2015|website = ABC News AU}}[http://www.aspworldtour.com/posts/68172/asp-announces-world-surf-league-letter-from-ceo ASP Announces World Surf League: Letter from CEO, 12 September 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205044921/http://www.aspworldtour.com/posts/68172/asp-announces-world-surf-league-letter-from-ceo |date=5 December 2014 }} (accessed 28 November 2014)

Ziff is married to the former Forbes magazine reporter Natasha Bacigalupo.[http://observer.com/1999/02/sagaponack-saga-guilt-by-association-studio-54-where-are-you/ New York Observer: "Sagaponack Saga: Guilt by Association; Studio 54, Where Are You?" By Frank DiGiacomo] February 22, 2009 The couple lives in North Palm Beach, Florida and vacations at their Martha's Vineyard home. They have two children.

In 2017, Ziff resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company along with fellow board members Marc Lasry and Tim Sarnoff, after allegations of sexual assault were disclosed.{{Cite web|first1=Niraj |last1= Chokshi |first2=Megan |last2=Twohey |authorlink= |title= Company Scrambles as Weinstein Takes Leave and a Third of the Board Resigns |work=The New York Times|date=October 6, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/us/harvey-weinstein-sexual-harassment.html?mod=article_inline |quote=Meanwhile, three members of the board — Dirk Ziff, a billionaire investor; Marc Lasry, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and chief executive of Avenue Capital Group, an investment firm; and Tim Sarnoff, president of production services and deputy chief executive of Technicolor — have resigned, according to a board member and a company executive. }}

In 2021, Ziff sold his family estate in Manalapan for $94 million. It had initially been listed for $200 million in 2015. It was bought by Jim Clark, who then sold it to Larry Ellison for $173 million in 2022.{{cite web | url=https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/03/09/ziff-family-sells-south-florida-compound-for-94m-six-years-after-it-hit-the-market/ | title=Ziff Family Sells South Florida Estate Once Asking $200M | date=9 March 2021 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/06/23/larry-ellison-oracle-billionaire-florida-home/7717443001/ | title=Billionaire Larry Ellison buys $173 million estate, Florida's largest residential sale ever | website=USA Today }}

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Category:1965 births

Category:American billionaires

Category:American people of German descent

Category:American people of Jewish descent

Category:Living people

Category:Harvard Business School alumni

Dirk

Category:People from North Palm Beach, Florida

Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni

Category:Trinity School (New York City) alumni