Steven M. Rales
| Steven M. Rales | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1951 (age 65–66) |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | B.A. DePauw University J.D. American University |
| Occupation | Businessman Film producer |
| Known for | co-founder of Danaher Corporation |
| Net worth |
 US$ 3.8 billion (July 2014) |
| Spouse(s) | Christine Plank (divorced) Lalage Damerell |
| Children | three (with Plank) |
| Parent(s) | Ruth Rales Norman Rales |
| Family | Mitchell Rales (brother) |
Steven M. Rales (born 1951) is an American businessman and film producer, and chairman of Danaher Corporation. He is listed as the 118th richest person in America, with a value of $3.2 billion.
Raised in a Jewish family, Rales is one of four sons of Norman and Ruth Rales. His father was raised in an orphanage, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City and later became a businessman who sold his building supply company in Washington, D.C. to his employees in what was the first (ESOP) transaction in the U.S. His father was also a philanthropist founding the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation and the Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service. Steven Rales has three brothers: Joshua, Mitchell, and Stewart.
Rales graduated in 1969 from Walt Whitman High School, in Bethesda, Maryland. in 1973 from DePauw University, where he was in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In 1978, he was awarded a J.D. from American University.
In 1979, he left his father's real estate firm to found Equity Group Holdings, with his brother Mitchell Rales. Using junk bonds, they bought a diversified line of businesses: first Mastershield, a vinyl siding manufacturer, then Mohawk Rubber Company, then Diversified Mortgage Group. They changed the name to Diversified Mortgage Investors, in 1978, and then Danaher, in 1984.
In 1985 they bought Easco, an aluminum siding manufacturer, and hand tool manufacturer.
In 1988, they made a hostile takeover bid for Interco (including Converse, and Ethan Allen). When the company responded with a poison pill, they sued, and prevailed in court. They later ended the bid after five months with a profit of $60 million.
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