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Steve Ross

American businessman (1927–1992)

Steven Jay Ross (né Rechnitz; April 5, 1927 – December 20, 1992) was an American businessman and CEO of Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery), Warner Communications, and Kinney National Services, Inc.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Steve Ross (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Sep 17, 1927, died Dec 20, 1992.1

About

He is also known for helping to popularize soccer in the United States.

From Wikipedia’s article on Steve Ross, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedColumbia Grammar & Preparatory School3
  • Date not recordedPaul Smith's College3

Ross was born Steven Jay Rechnitz on April 5, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jewish immigrants. His father—who lost all his money during the Great Depression—changed the family name to Ross in hope of finding work with fewer struggles. Ross attended Paul Smith's College for two years and then joined the U.S. Navy. After his military service, he went to work at his uncle's store in the Garment District in Manhattan.

From Wikipedia’s article on Steve Ross (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: businessperson, manager, publisher.7

In 1953, he married Carol Rosenthal, the daughter of a Manhattan funeral home owner, Edward Rosenthal, who operated the largest funeral company in the United States, Riverside Memorial Chapel, where he accepted employment as a funeral director. After noticing that the limousines used in funeral processions were not being used at night, he convinced his father-in-law to let him establish a separate company that would lease out the vehicles in the evenings. The company was solidly profitable and enabled Ross to obtain bank financing to start a rental company, Abbey Rent a Car.

He later merged Abbey with a parking lot operator, the Kinney Parking Company, which was then owned by underworld crime figures Manny Kimmel and Abner Zwillman, and added an office cleaning business (which was jointly owned by the funeral home and a cousin of his father-in-law). Kinney was taken public in 1962 with a market valuation of $12.5 million. In 1964, Kinney purchased wood flooring manufacturer Circle Floor from Seymour and Paul Milstein for $15 million with Paul remaining as manager of the unit until 1971.

Ross was company president and moved the firm from downtown New York to 10 Rockefeller Plaza. In 1966, Kinney expanded into the entertainment business by purchasing the Ashley-Famous talent agency (founded by Ted Ashley) and then in 1969, Kinney paid $400 million for the ailing Warner Bros.-Seven Arts film studio and television and record business. Three years later, after spinning off its non-entertainment assets, Kinney National Services renamed itself Warner Communications with Ross as co-CEO from 1969 to 1972.

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Warner Communications/Time Warner

In 1971, Warner expanded into the cable television business by purchasing various small cable companies. Ross competed directly with the Big Three television networks that dominated television broadcasting, believing in the potential of narrowcasting whereby separate cable channels were developed to target specific audiences with narrower interests, mirroring the radio station model. This pioneering approach led to the creation of the successful cable TV channels MTV and Nickelodeon which were both later sold at a great profit.

In 1972, Ross was appointed CEO, president and chairman of Warner Communications. He introduced an incentive-based compensation program and delegated responsibility to his middle managers. His support and commitment to his employees, combined with lucrative financial incentives and a hands-off management style, inspired deep loyalty. Many employees saw him as a father figure: "Steve was very much what I wish my father was," Steven Spielberg said. Spielberg dedicated his 1993 film Schindler's List to Ross.

In 1976, Warner Communications purchased Atari, Inc. and had great success with its Atari 2600 consoles. But by 1983, Atari collapsed in the wake of the video games crash that same year, leaving Warner Communications vulnerable to a hostile takeover. Rupert Murdoch tried to buy Warner, but Ross was able to impede him by selling 20 percent of Warner to Chris-Craft Industries (then controlled by Herbert J. Siegel).

In 1979, needing financing to further expand its cable television business, Ross partnered with American Express, convincing its executives on the potential of selling AmEx credit cards direct to Warner cable TV customers. Warner-AmEx Cable was established and Warner received a much needed capital injection. AmEx's cross-sale expectations never materialized and in 1984, Warner bought out American Express's remaining share. The cable TV business eventually became the cornerstone of the company until being spun off in 2009.

In 1989, Warner Communications was merged with Time Inc. in a $14 billion deal creating the largest media and entertainment company at the time. The merger was seen as a perfect fit: Warner's business was 40 percent international while Time's business was 91% percent domestic; Warner had no magazines while Time had 23 titles; Warner had the world's largest record business while Time was not involved in music; and both were big in the capital intensive cable business where economies of scale mattered. Originally advertised as a combination of equals with both Ross and J. Richard Munro of Time Inc. listed as Co-Chief Operating Officers, within a year of the merger, Ross became the sole CEO. By 1990, Time Warner owned Time, People and Sports Illustrated magazines (the three largest advertising draws in American publishing); the Warner Bros. studio in Hollywood; the Warner, Atlantic, Elektra and Asylum record companies; Warner Books; DC Comics; Home Box Office and some of the country's largest cable television systems.

From Wikipedia’s article on Steve Ross (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornSep 17, 1927, Brooklyn8
  • DiedDec 20, 1992, Los Angeles9
  • CitizenshipUnited States10
  • SpousesAmanda Burden married 197911; Amanda Burden 1979 to 198111

Ross was married three times:

In 1953, he married Carol Rosenthal, daughter of Edward Rosenthal. They divorced in 1978. They had two children:

Toni Ross Salaway. She was married to Jeffrey H. Salaway, who died in 2001. They owned and operated Nick & Toni's restaurant in East Hampton, New York. They had two children, Sara and Noah.

Mark Ross, the co-founder with Sir George Martin of music production company, GrandMaster Music. He has one child with his wife Alison Bickford: Morgan Ross (born 1991) and two children with his wife Cynthia: Caroline Ross (born 2002) and Brian Ross (born 2001).

In 1980, he married Amanda (née Mortimer) Burden, the daughter of Barbara (née Cushing) Mortimer (who later married CBS chairman, William S. Paley). They divorced 16 months later.

In 1982, he married Courtney Sale, daughter of a prosperous Bryan, Texas, family. She dated Ross before his marriage to Amanda Burden and upon their divorce, they rekindled the relationship, eventually marrying. They remained married until his death in 1992. They had a daughter, Nicole.

From Wikipedia’s article on Steve Ross (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

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