Jeffrey Lurie | |
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Lurie in August 2010
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Born |
Boston, Massachusetts |
September 8, 1951
Alma mater |
Clark University Boston University Brandeis University |
Organization | Philadelphia Eagles |
Net worth | US $1.85 Billion (January 2017) |
Title | Chairman/CEO |
Term | 1994–present |
Spouse(s) |
Christina Weiss Lurie (1992-2012; divorced) Tina Lai (m. 2013) |
Jeffrey Lurie (born September 8, 1951) is the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League.
Lurie was born into wealth in Boston; his grandfather Philip Smith founded the General Cinema movie theater chain. His father, Morris John Lurie, married Nancy Smith, the daughter of entrepreneur Philip Smith. Morris and Nancy Lurie had three children: Jeffrey, Peter, and Cathy. Morris John Lurie died on April 14, 1961, at the age of 44. In July his grandfather Philip Smith died. Jeffrey was nine years old.
In the late 1960s General Cinema began acquiring bottling franchises, including a Pepsi bottling operation. General Cinema evolved over the years into Harcourt General Inc., a $3.7 billion conglomerate based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with 23,700 employees worldwide. In its heyday it was the nation's fourth largest chain of movie theaters, owned several publishing houses, three insurance companies and a leading global consulting firm. In 1984 Carter Hawley Hale was acquired, which was at the time the tenth largest clothing retailer in the United States, including Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman-Marcus.
Lurie earned a B.A. from Clark University, a master's degree in psychology from Boston University, and a PhD in social policy from Brandeis University, where he wrote his thesis on the depiction of women in Hollywood movies. He was born to Jewish parents but has spent his adult life as a non-practicing Jew. Prior to entering business, Lurie served as an adjunct assistant professor of social policy at Boston University.
In 1983 he left academia to join General Cinema Corporation, a major film company founded by his grandfather, Philip Smith, and now headed by his uncle, Richard Smith. He worked as an executive in the company as a liaison between General Cinema Corporation and the production community in Hollywood. He was also an advisor in The General Cinema national film buying office.
He then founded Chestnut Hill Productions in 1985, which produced a string of Hollywood movie and TV "bombs".