Hermann Merkin

Hermann Merkin (born 1907 in Leipzig, Germany - died March 9, 1999 in New York City) was a Jewish-American businessman and, with his wife Ursula Merkin, a philanthropist. He is the father of writer Daphne Merkin.

Merkin's family fled Germany to escape Nazi persecution and came to New York City in 1940. Soon after coming to the United States, Merkin joined the Army as an intelligence and counterintelligence officer. After the war he purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and founded Merkin & Company, an investment firm. Although he was known to many people in that capacity, the actual bulk of his fortune came from his ownership of a significant portion of Overseas Shipholding Group, which owns and manages a large fleet of transatlantic Oil Tankers. Consequently, he was actually not so much an investment manager, as a shipping magnate.

Merkin was, for a period, a good friend of Herman Wouk and the two were very involved in the founding of [http://www.5as.org/ Fifth Avenue Synagogue] in Manhattan. He had six children, three sons and three daughters, and at his death had 20 grandchildren. He and his wife "Ulla" sponsored the well-known Merkin Concert Hall in New York City and also gave generously to Mount Sinai Hospital, Yeshiva University, [http://info.jpost.com/1999/Supplements/Charity/reut.html Re'ut] and many Jewish charities; they were particularly interested in furthering Jewish education through philanthropic gifts.Hermann met and married his Wife Ursula Merkin (maiden name Breuer) in 1950 in New York.Merkin was a religious man, and regularly attended a shiur until he was unable to do so. He was very active in his synagogue.

Merkin died at age 91 of congestive heart failure.

Sources

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE0DE1F3FF933A25750C0A96F958260 Merkin's death notices] at the "New York Times"
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E3DE163EF932A25750C0A96F958260&scp=3&sq=hermann%20merkin&st=cse Merkin's obituary] at the "New York Times"