Harold Grinspoon

Harold Grinspoon (born 1929)[1] is an American real estate developer who founded Aspen Square Management and a philanthropist who founded the Harold Grinspoon Foundation as well as its flagship programs PJ Library, JCamp180, and LIFE & LEGACY. After purchasing a single two-family house in Western Massachusetts as an investment property in the 1960s, he built one of the largest real estate corporations in the United States.[2] In 2015, Grinspoon and his wife Diane Troderman signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment to dedicate at least half of his wealth to philanthropy.[3]

Harold Grinspoon
Born1929 (age 91–92)
Newton, Massachusetts
NationalityUnited States
OccupationReal estate developer
Net worth$500 million (2011)[1]
FamilyDiane Troderman

Biography

Born to a Jewish family[4] in 1929 in Newton, Massachusetts, Grinspoon grew up alongside his three brothers and sister in a family that struggled economically during the Depression. As a young boy, he was harassed[5] for being one of the few Jewish youths in town.

Grinspoon briefly attended Marlboro College after high school, but left to pursue various entrepreneurial pursuits, including a year selling ice cream. In the early 1960s, he purchased a dilapidated two-family home in Agawam, Massachusetts with money borrowed from an in-law. He repaired the house, rented it out, and launched a career in real estate that spanned six decades. His company, Aspen Square Management, eventually expanded nationally, and by the 1980s had become one of the 50 largest multi-family management companies in the United States.

Philanthropy

Grinspoon established the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, a private family foundation, in 1986. In 1991, he established the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is also a benefactor of jewish day school, Lander Grinspoon Academy in Northampton Massachusetts.

Personal life

In 1978, he met Diane Troderman, a former high school teacher who would become his third wife. Harold and Diane travel extensively around the world and have published articles on inter-generational philanthropy.[6][7]

References
  1. "Aiming to Improve Judaism One Book at a Time". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  2. "Philanthropist Grinspoon shares love of books and Jewish culture - The Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  3. "The Giving Pledge :: Pledger Profiles". givingpledge.org. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. "Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon signs Giving Pledge on donating over half his wealth". Jewish Telegraph Agency. June 2, 2015.
  5. Peet, Lisa. "PJ Library Helps Parents Talk about Anti-Semitism". The Library Journal. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  6. "Diane Troderman receives honor from JESNA". Massachusetts Jewish Ledger. June 9, 2011.
  7. "A Conversation with Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman -The cofounders of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation talk about the importance of Jewish philanthropy". Jewish In Seattle Magazine Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. August 1, 2016.
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