Saul Steinberg (business)
| Saul Steinberg | |
|---|---|
Historical photo of Saul Steinberg
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| Born |
Saul Phillip Steinberg August 13, 1939 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | December 7, 2012 (aged 73) Manhattan, New York |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | The Wharton School |
| Occupation | Founder of Leasco CEO of Reliance Insurance Company |
| Spouse(s) |
Gayfryd McNabb MacLean Johnson (m. 1983; his death 2012) Laura Sconocchia Fisher (m. 1974) (divorce date unknown) Barbara Herzog (m. 1957; div. 1974) |
| Children | Jonathan Steinberg (son) Laura Broumand (daughter) Nicholas Steinberg (son) Julian Steinberg (son) Holden Steinberg (daughter) |
| Relatives | Robert Steinberg (brother) Roni Sokoloff (sister) Lynda Jurist (sister) |
Saul Phillip Steinberg (August 13, 1939 – December 7, 2012) was an American businessman and financier. He started a computer leasing company (Leasco), which he used in an audacious and successful takeover of the much larger Reliance Insurance Company in 1968. He was best known for his unsuccessful attempts to take over Chemical Bank in 1969 and Walt Disney Productions in 1984.
Steinberg was born to a Jewish family on August 13, 1939, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York the son of Julius and Anne Cohen Steinberg. He has one brother, Robert Steinberg, and two sisters, Roni Sokoloff and Lynda Jurist. Steinberg finished a degree from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was listed as a member of the class of 1959 although some accounts have said that he graduated in two years at age 18.
In 1961, at the age 22, Steinberg founded Leasco Data Processing Equipment Corporation, a computer leasing company that leased IBM computers. While at Wharton, Steinberg had written a paper about IBM Corp., and he had learned that IBM was charging premium prices to lease its computers. Steinberg discovered that he could offer computer leases that would undercut IBM's prices and still obtain bank financing for the entire purchase price of the computers by using the signed leases as collateral with lenders. Leasco grew rapidly, and in 1965 went public.
Leasco bid to acquire Reliance Insurance Company, a Philadelphia insurance company 10 times the size of Leasco. Reliance had been in business 150 years, having been established in 1817 to provide fire insurance. It was managed conservatively. Insurance companies have lots of capital, which is just what computer leasing companies need. Steinberg offered the Reliance shareholders a combination of convertible subordinated debentures and common stock warrants (rather than cash). Reliance management resisted but eventually capitulated, and Leasco was successful in assuming control of Reliance in 1968. Steinberg was 29 when he took over Reliance.
In 1969, Steinberg attempted to take over Chemical Bank, then one of the nation's largest financial institutions. The attempt failed.
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