Severyn Ashkenazy

Severyn Ashkenazy (born 1936) is a Polish-born American hotelier and philanthropist.

Severyn Ashkenazy
Born1936 (age 84–85)
Tarnopol, Poland
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Paris
UCLA (did not graduate)
OccupationHotelier, philanthropist
ChildrenSev Aszkenazy
Stefan Ashkenazy
Adrian Ashkenazy
Keighley Ashkenazy
Parent(s)Izador Ashkenazy
RelativesArnold Ashkenazy (brother)
Goga Ashkenazi (former daughter-in-law)

Early life

Severyn Ashkenazy was born in 1936[1] in Tarnopol, then part of Poland, now in Western Ukraine.[2] He has a brother, Arnold.[2] Their father, Izador Ashkenazy, was an art collector who owned paintings by Matisse, Monet, Gauguin, Picasso, and Manet.[2]

During World War II, he and his family hid in the cellar in the house of Polish peasant family in the countryside, who despite being fully aware of death penalty for helping Jews provided Ashkenazy's immediate and extended family (8 people in total) with shelter for over 20 months.[3]

After the war, he moved to France, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from the University of Paris.[4] He then attended graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for four years, but did not complete his degree.[4]

Career

He developed L'Ermitage Beverly Hills with his brother Arnold, which opened in 1976.[4] As of 1989, he co-owned it with his brother, as well as the Bel Age and Mondrian hotels.[2]

Meanwhile, his brother Arnold Ashkenazy purchased paintings by "Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Raoul Dufy, Maurice de Vlaminck, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, John Altoon, Saul Steinberg, and California impressionist William Wendt, and lithographs by Joan Miro, Marc Chagall and Alexander Calder."[2] The brothers hung many of their paintings on the walls of their hotels.[2]

He is the founder and chairman emeritus of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.[3]

Philanthropy

He is the founder of the Beit Warszawa Association, Heritage and Rebirth, Beit Polska and Beit Warszawa foundations, and Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland.[3]

He gave the commencement speech to UCLA humanities graduates in 2014.

Personal life

He has a son, Sev Aszkenazy, who is a real estate developer in San Fernando, California. Whilst a UCLA student in 1960, Ashkenazy had an affair with a Mexican American woman and left before the baby was born. His mother slightly changed the surname and brought him up as a Catholic. He finally met his father when he was in his 20s, and worked for him for six years, before starting Pueblo Contracting and Aszkenazy Development in San Fernando.[5]

His son, Stefan Ashkenazy, was married to the Kazakh-Russian businesswoman and socialite Goga Ashkenazi from 2003–2007, and they have a son, Adam.[6]

References
  1. "Severyn Ashkenazy". theeuropean-magazine. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  2. The Prince of Barter : For hotel magnate and art collector Arnold Ashkenazy, every day's a high-stakes swap meet, The Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1989
  3. Poland is the safest place in Europe for Jews today, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, September 23, 2014
  4. Californians boast 'world's best hotel', The Montreal Gazette, October 20, 1979
  5. Loiederman, Roberto (April 17, 2008). "Anti-Semitism charge colors liquor license fight in City of San Fernando". jewishjournal. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  6. Ella, Sima (1 February 2013). "Goga Ashkenazi Makes Her Mark on Society". jewishbusinessnews. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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