Wolfson family

Family patriarch Solomon Wolfson immigrated from Białystok to Glasgow, Scotland, with his wife Nechi (née Wilamowski) at the end of the 19th century. He was a furniture maker and Jewish community leader, later appointed Justice of the Peace.{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}} His son Isaac Wolfson built the family retail business and founded the Wolfson Foundation and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust. Isaac was joined at GUS by his brother Charles Wolfson and later succeeded by his son Leonard Wolfson, and his nephews David Wolfson and Victor Barnett. By World War II the family was based in London, with the Samuel Wolfson branch having moved to Israel. During the Blitz, Solomon's daughter Edith took many of the family children (the third generation) to seek refuge in the United States for the duration of the war. After World War II various family members moved permanently to New York. Today, family members live in London, New York, and Israel.{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}

File:Wolfson College Oxford Coat Of Arms (Motto).svg]]

File:Wolfson College, Cambridge (2).jpg]]

File:The Wolfson Medical School - geograph.org.uk - 423955.jpg]]

File:Jerusalem Great Synagogue05.jpg and the Great Synagogue (Jerusalem)]]

File:Jerusalem-volfson buildings.jpg]]

File:Francisco Goya - Portrait of the Duke of Wellington.jpg, purchased for the National Gallery by the Wolfson Foundation]]

A family descended from devout Orthodox Jews, the Wolfsons followed the religious and charitable example of their patriarch Solomon and the middle-European community from which he came. Isaac Wolfson is quoted as having said, "No man should have more than £100,000. The rest should go to charity." The Wolfson Foundation was established in 1955, endowed with shares in the family businesses, to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities, and health & disability. The Foundation has awarded over £900 million (£1.9 billion in real terms) in grants to more than 11,000 projects throughout the U.K., including the founding endowments for Wolfson College, Oxford and Wolfson College, Cambridge. The Foundation also operates the Wolfson History Prize.{{cite news |title=Wolfson Foundations Unparalleled 60 Year Impact |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/168270/wolfson-foundations-unparalleled-60-year-impact-uk/ |date=June 29, 1959}} The Wolfson Economics Prize is individually sponsored by Simon Wolfson.

Through the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust and various forms of personal giving, the family have also been among Israel's earliest and most significant supporters, as well as major supporters of Jewish life in Britain and New York. In Israel, the Charitable Trust has been a primary supporter of the Weizmann Institute, the Kiryat Wolfson developments, Heichal Shlomo and the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, and Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv, among many other projects. Family members were also founding benefactors of Bar Ilan University and The Israel Museum, as well as Lincoln Square Synagogue and Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York.{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=jerome-stern&pid=184782479|title=Stern Jerome |author= |date=April 1, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date= }}{{Cite news |date=1997-01-17 |title=Paid Notice: Deaths HYMAN, EDITH WOLFSON BARNETT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/17/classified/paid-notice-deaths-hyman-edith-wolfson-barnett.html |access-date=2023-02-09 |issn=0362-4331}}

Created in 1962, the Wolfson Baronetcy was one of the last baronetcies and among the last non-royal hereditary titles created in the United Kingdom. In addition, three family members have been created life peers as Lord Wolfson, and many family members and their spouses have received honours for their charitable services.{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}

{{Tree list}}

• Solomon Wolfson J.P. (1868–1941), immigrated from Polish-Russia to Scotland, he is the namesake of Heichal Shlomo; m. Nechi Williamowsky/Wilamowski{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Samuel Wolfson (1896–1973), emigrated to Israel
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Rabbi Aviezer Wolfson
• Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet (1897–1991), m. Edith Specterman
• Leonard Wolfson, Baron Wolfson (1927–2010), succeeded his father as chairman of GUS and the Wolfson Foundation; m. Ruth Sterling and had four children and then married to Estelle Jackson
• Dame Janet Wolfson De Botton (1952–), art collector and philanthropist; m. Michael Green and then Gilbert de Botton{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Rebecca Green (1974–)
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Catherine Green (1976–)
• Hon. Laura Wolfson (1954–), chairman of the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust; m. Barry Townsley{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Alexandra Townsley (1977–)
• Georgina Townsley (1979–)
• Charles Townsley (1984–)
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Isabella Townsley (1994–)
• Hon. Deborah Wolfson Davis (1959–), screenwriter of The Favourite; m. Glen Davis{{cite web |url=https://www.awardsdaily.com/2018/11/05/deborah-davis-talks-to-awards-daily-about-the-favourites-twenty-year-journey-to-the-big-screen |title=Deborah Davis Talks To Awards Daily About The Favourite's Twenty Year Journey To The Big Screen |vauthors=Tangcay J |date=November 5, 2018|website= |publisher=AwardsDaily |access-date= }}
• Hon. Elizabeth Wolfson (1966–), m. Daniel Peltz OBE{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Max Peltz
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Francesca Peltz (1992–)
• Charles Wolfson (1899–1970), president and later chairman of G.U.S. Canada; m. Hylda Jarvis
• Jane Wolfson, international board chairman of Bar-Ilan University; m. Jerome Stern and then Dr. Don Lebell
• David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale (1935–2021), chief of staff to Margaret Thatcher and the third Wolfson family chairman of GUS; m. Baroness Rawlings (they divorced with no children) and then Susan Davis
• Simon Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Aspley Guise (1967–), chief executive of Next and founder of the Wolfson Economics Prize; m. Eleanor Shawcross, economic advisor to George Osborne and daughter of biographer William Shawcross
• Hon. Andrew Wolfson (1969–)
• Lily Wolfson (2007–)
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Hon. Deborah Wolfson (1973–){{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Jeannie Wolfson (1901–1974), m. Max Williams
• Edith Wolfson (1902–1997), m. Esmond Barnett of London and then Ralph Hyman of New York
• Adele Barnett (1931–2023), m. Howard Suslak, president of McDonald & Co.
• Victor Barnett (1933–2024), chairman of Burberry, executive director of GUS and Experian; m. Helaine M. Barnett{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/29/archives/victor-j-barnett-marries-helaine-phyllis-meresman.html|title=Victor J. Barnett Marries Helaine Phyllis Meresman|author= |date=June 29, 1959 |work=The New York Times |access-date= }}
• Craig Barnett (1962–), Wall Street investment banker; m. Jennifer Peck, daughter of investor and philanthropist Stephen M. Peck
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Gabriel Barnett{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/05/classified/paid-notice-deaths-meresman-harry.html |title= Deaths MERESMAN, HARRY|author= |date=March 5, 1999 |work=The New York Times|access-date= }}
• Roger Barnett (1964–), CEO of Shaklee; m. Sloan Lindemann, daughter of businessman George Lindemann Sr.
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Spencer Barnett (2000–){{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/fashion/22SOCIALITES.html |title=Eco-Socialites Make Cleaning Green a Priority |vauthors=La Feria R |date=April 22, 2007|work=The New York Times |access-date= }}
• Rose Wolfson (1904–2003), m. Samuel Martyn of London{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Herman Martyn MBE{{cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/obituaries/obituary-herman-martyn-mbe-1.474147 |title=Obituary: Herman Martyn, MBE |vauthors=Tessler G |date=December 22, 2018|website=The Jewish Chronicle |access-date= }}
• Richard Martyn
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Mark Martyn
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Lee Martyn
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Marlene Martyn
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Eva Wolfson, m. Samuel Gerber{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Esther Wolfson, m. Joe Levy{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Bette Wolfson (1911–1993), m. Harold Schapiro of New York{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Stuart Schapiro
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Gerald Schapiro
• Dolly Wolfson (1913–1999), m. Joe Jacobson and then Robert Raisler of New York{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• Steven Jacobson (1944–), m. Lynn Kaplan{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• J. Joseph Jacobson (1970–), m. Jordana Matthews
• Jonas Jacobson (2003–)
• Matthew Jacobson (2005–)
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Anthony Jacobson (1974–)
• Hannah "Bebe" Wolfson, Lady Foley (1917–2015), m. Jack Steinberg of London and then Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley{{cite web|url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/145339/foley|title=FOLEY - Death Announcements|work=Daily Telegraph|access-date=2012-02-14}}
• Raymonde Steinberg, m. Ian Jay{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}
• {{Tree list/final branch}} Kathrine Steinberg, m. Baron Jean-Louis de Gunzburg, a great-great-grandson of the first Baron Günzburg{{sfn|Burke's Peerage|2003|p=4230}}

{{Tree list/end}}

• UCL Wolfson Institute
• Wolfson Medical School
• Wolfson Stadium, South Africa
• Wolfson Research Exchange
• Wolfson Centre for Magnetics
• Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre
• Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre
• Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases
• Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre
• Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine
• Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|ref={{harvid|Burke's Peerage|2003}}|editor-first=Charles|editor-last=Mosley|title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage|edition=107th|year=2003}} 3 volumes.

Category:Business families of the United Kingdom

Category:Jewish-British families

Category:British Jews

Category:Noble families of the United Kingdom

Category:Political families of the United Kingdom