- Cyril Stein
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Cyril Stein (Born: London, February 20, 1928 - Died: Jerusalem, February 15, 2011) was an English bookmaker, businessman and finally philanthropic supporter of many Jewish causes and charities who first bought Ladbrokes in 1956, then floated it in 1967 and finally left it in 1993.[1][2]
Born in the East End of London into a family of migrants from Russia. His father, known as “Honest Jack”, worked for the London and Provincial Sporting News Agency, which relayed information between off-course bookmakers and racecourses.
Cyril Stein was educated at West Ham Grammar School and ran his own small credit-betting office in the West End of London when (aged 28) he teamed up in 1956 with his bookmaker uncle Mark, who traded as Max Parker, to buy the venerable but failing bookmarking firm of Ladbrokes, founded in 1886, for a reported £100,000.
Appointed chairman of Ladbrokes in 1966 and some 12 months before the company was successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange with an initial market capitalization of £1-million. Cyril Stein remained in that position until stepping down at the end of 1993 (aged 65) by which time the company was valued in excess of £2-billion.
Both an observant Jew and a committed Zionist throughout his lifetime, Cyril Stein spent much of his latter years in Israel.
Philanthropy
He was[1]:
- Vice-president of United Joint Israel Appeal (UJIA)
- Supporter of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), including
- Chair of the JNF Negev redevelopment project
- Trustee of the Jewish Education Development Trust
- Trustee and chairman of the Governors of Carmel College, Wallingford,Oxfordshire (UK)
References
- ^ a b The Times (London), obituary Thursday February 17, 2011
- ^ The Jewish Chronicle, February 17, 2011
External links
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