Victor Posner: Difference between revisions

==CareerEarly life==

Of [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian-Jewish]] descent, hePosner was born in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], one of nine children of [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian-Jewish]] grocers Morris and Mary Posner. Though he left school at age 13, he claimed to have earned his first million dollars by the age of 21 by investing in real estate, although financial records do not confirm this.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Posner's primary vehicle was the Deisel-Wemmer Co., a cigar manufacturer and importer based in Ohio, which was founded in 1884. By January 23, 1929, Deisel-Wemmer incorporated as Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corporation (DWG) when acquired by an investment group. DWG was a small outfit and just to keep up market share purchased other small cigar companies like Odin cigars in 1930 and the Bernard Schwartz Cigar Corporation in 1939. The Company on May 15, 1946, changed its name to a simple name, DWG Cigar Corporation. Another series of acquisitions started in 1948 with the Nathan Elson Company following with A. Sensenbrenner & Sons in 1955 and in 1956 Chicago Motor Club Cigar and Reading, Pennsylvania-based Yocum Brothers. With the weakening of the cigar market due to medical advisories, many smokers switchswitched to cigarettes, which were then believed to be safer. DWG then streamlined cigar operations and began looking for other businesses that might suit DWG's wholesale and distribution strength. The [[New York Stock Exchange]] delisted DWG in 1965, the company then sold their remaining cigar operations or closed them in 1966. Renamed as DWG Corporation, DWG used its cash from the cigar operation sale to purchase a 12% share of the National Propane Corporation. Security Management Company, headed by Victor Posner, a major investor in DWG saw potential with the company as it was bold to sell its main operation. Posner saw it as a good takeover vehicle and became the controlling interest of DWG.<ref name="FU">{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Triarc-Companies-Inc-Company-History.html|title=Triarc Companies, Inc. Company History |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=Funding Universe }}</ref>

He was said by ''Forbes'' magazine to "have the arrogance of a banana republic dictator" and by the ''[[The New York Times]]'' to be the "dean of the corporate takeover".<ref>http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n38_v23/ai_7964205 {{Bare URL inline|date=September 2022}}</ref> T''he[[The Economist]]'' said, after he died, "he was a pioneer of the hostile takeover of a public company. He was dismissive of the convention previously observed that a takeover should have the agreement of the existing board. He would spot a company whose assets he judged were undervalued, gain control and milk it. Some bits would be sold off, others would be closed. Previously unconsidered treasures, such as the employees' pension fund, would be raided and reinvested in Mr Posner's other companies."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104084404/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-87459971.html "Victor Posner, master of the hostile takeover"], ''The Economist March'' 7, 2002</ref> Posner was a maverick player in the world of corporate finance. Many of his dealings were alleged to be illegal and he was closely watched by the [[United States Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] from the mid-1980s on.

Shortly before he died, Posner prepared a new will that removed his children and grandchildren as heirs to his estate, which was valued between $200 million and $1 billion. Instead, Brenda Nestor was named as the main beneficiary. Posner's children and his adult grandchildren sued on grounds that he was not competent when he made the changes.<ref name="Forbes" /> The legal entanglements continued until the last lawsuit was settled on April 8, 2015, over the $195 million estate Posner bequeathed to Nestor. The [[Florida Third District Court of Appeal]] ruled Tracy Posner Ward could not sue Nestor for $5.8 million in a trust Victor Posner had set aside for Ward's daughter Melody. In addition, the Victor Posner estate got tied up in liens from the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., the Federal agency noting that the pension plan sponsored by Posner's estate had a shortfall of $38.8 million, and the plan was terminated by the agency.<ref>{{cite web|last=Marcus|first=Noreen|date=April 13, 2015|url=http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202723356696/Posner-Estate-Winding-Down-After-13Year-Battle?slreturn=20150621031239|title=Posner Estate Winding Down After 13-Year Battle|website=law.com|access-date=July 21, 2015}}</ref>