Wilma Tisch
{{short description|American philanthropist and heiress (born 1927)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Wilma Tisch
| image =
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| birth_name = Wilma Stein
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1927}}
| birth_place =
| nationality = American
| education =
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| occupation = Investor, Philanthropist
| known_for =
| spouse = Laurence Tisch
| children = 4, including Andrew Tisch and James S. Tisch
| relatives = David Tisch (grandson)
| parents =
| website =
}}
Wilma "Billie" Tisch (née Stein) is an American philanthropist. She is a graduate of Skidmore College and has served on its board as well as pursuing many other philanthropic ventures.
Biography
Tisch was born on June 25, 1927, in Long Branch, New Jersey, but grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[http://search.cjh.org:1701/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=cjh_digitool1661259&indx=1&recIds=cjh_digitool1661259&recIdxs=0&elementId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=2&vl(6137366UI1)=all_items&scp.scps=scope%3A%28CJH%29&frbg=&tab=default_tab&dstmp=1374970252373&srt=rank&mode=Basic&dum=true&fromLogin=true&vl(freeText0)=wilma+tisch&vid=beta Center for Jewish History: "Oral History of Wilma Tisch" interview by Nick Tanner] November 14, 1983 | Click "Display Item" and then pdf to view Her father, Joseph Stein, the son of German Jewish immigrants, worked as a journalist and later in the automotive industry and opened the first Cadillac dealership in New Jersey; her mother, Rose Liebesman Stein, was the daughter of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. Her family belonged to a Conservative synagogue. She has one sister, the late Myra Cohn. She attended public schools and graduated with a B.S. from Skidmore College in 1948 with a major in economics and a minor in accounting.
After school, she took a job with Time, Inc as a secretary and soon after was married to Laurence Tisch in 1948. Early in his career, Tisch made his living from kosher hotels which catered to the Jewish community.
Philanthropy
In 1962, she became a trustee of the Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York, serving on its board of directors. In 1969, she became a member of the Distribution Committee of Federation of Jewish Philanthropies which was responsible for allocating resources to charities that supported the Jewish community. She was instrumental in obtaining Federation sponsorship for Blythedale which also ran a program on joint disease in addition to being a children's hospital. In 1975, she became chairman of the Distribution Committee of the Federation. In 1980, she became the first woman to serve as president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies serving until 1983. She also served as the board chairwoman of the WNYC Foundation,[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/25/nyregion/tisch-family-gives-30-million-to-nyu.html New York Times: "Tisch Family Gives $30 Million to N.Y.U." By KATHLEEN TELTSCH] January 25, 1989 Vice Chairman of United Way of New York City, Director of the Tisch Foundation, Trustee of Skidmore College,[https://archive.today/20130727162609/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=5034886&privcapId=3534921 BusinessWeek: "Executive Profile - Wilma S. Tisch] retrieved July 27, 2013 Trustee of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Trustee of the September 11th Fund, and served on the Mayor’s Transition Advisory Council of New York City.[http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2006/05/11/wilma_stein_tisch_receives.html New York University News Bulletin: "Wilma Stein Tisch Receives Honorary Doctorate From NYU"] May 11, 2006.
In 1976, she received the Louis Marshall Medal from the Jewish Theological Seminary for "consecrated service to Judaism and the American Jewish Community". In 2006, she received an honorary doctorate from New York University for "extraordinary leadership and generosity across an array of civic and philanthropic endeavors".
Personal life
In 1948, Tisch married Laurence Tisch, a real estate developer. They had four sons.[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/business/laurence-a-tisch-investor-known-for-saving-cbs-inc-from-takeover-dies-at-80.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm New York Times: "Laurence A. Tisch, Investor Known for Saving CBS Inc. From Takeover, Dies at 80" By JONATHAN KANDELL] November 16, 2003
- Andrew H. Tisch (born 1949)
- Daniel Tisch - runs a family fund, Mentor Partners, is active in Jewish causes, and sits on the New York University board.[http://observer.com/2006/12/the-tisch-family/ The New York Observer: "The Tisch Family" By Anna Schneider-Mayerson] December 18, 2006 He is the father of David Tisch.{{Cite news|title= Zara Zimmerman and David Tisch |newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 4, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/fashion/weddings/zara-zimmerman-david-tisch-weddings.html?_r=0 |access-date=February 26, 2016}}
- James S. Tisch (born 1953). He is the father of Jessica Tisch.{{Cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |last2=Cramer |first2=Maria |date=2025-04-09 |title=Jessica Tisch: NYPD Commissioner, Heiress and Maybe a Future Mayor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/nyregion/jessica-tisch.html |access-date=2025-04-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
- Thomas Jonah Tisch - Works as a partner at FLF Associates, a private investment group in New York City. In 1985, he married Helen Vivian Scovell; the service was officiated by Rabbi Philip Hiat.[https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/17/style/nell-scovell-writer-marries-thomas-jonah-tisch.html New York Times: "Nell Scovell, Writer, Marries Thomas Jonah Tisch"] June 17, 1985
Net worth
Per Forbes, she has a net worth of US$ 1.4 billion (April 2023)[http://www.forbes.com/profile/wilma-tisch/ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Wilma Tisch] April 2023
References
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Category:Skidmore College alumni
Category:People from Manhattan
Category:American philanthropists
Category:American billionaires