Stewart Rahr

Stewart J. Rahr is an American entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. A billionaire, Rahr was founder and owner of pharmaceutical and generics wholesaler Kinray, the largest privately owned pharmaceutical distributor in the world until it was bought out by Cardinal Health in 2010.

Stewart J. Rahr
Born1946 (age 74–75)
Queens, New York, US
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew York University
OccupationFormer pharmaceutical distributor
Net worth US $ 2.3 billion (October 2020)[1]
Spouse(s)
Carol K. Rahr
​
(m. 1969⁠–⁠2012)​
Children2
WebsiteThe Stewart J. Rahr Foundation

Early life and career

Stewart Rahr was raised in a Jewish family[2][3] in Far Rockaway section of Queens, New York.[4] He has an older brother, Elliot.[4] As a youth, he worked at his father's retail pharmacy store in Brooklyn[5] and in 1963, he graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School also in Brooklyn. He graduated with a B.A. from New York University[1] and attended New York University Law School before dropping out to take over his family's pharmacy business[5] which then had $50,000 in sales.[6]

As the family business also served as a wholesaler for several other pharmacies, Rahr focused on the wholesaling side of the business. He expanded it into a large operation named Kinray Inc that served over 4,000 pharmacies in the Northeastern United States with revenues of over $5 billion.[6] Rahr was able to grow the business rapidly through the stockpiling of pharmaceuticals, relying on drug price inflation to maximize his profit margin when he sold the extra inventory to retail pharmacies at a later date.[5] This practice later became controversial due to consumer ethics issues, and pharmaceutical manufacturers now monitor their distributors to ensure that they do not hold more than one month's supply of any given drug.[5] In 2010, Rahr sold Kinray to Cardinal Health for $1.3 billion.[7][8] He became a "self-made billionaire" in this way.[9][10]

In 2020, Rahr ranked No. 359 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.[11]

Philanthropy

In 2012, Rahr donated $640,000 to the Israel Cancer Research Fund, the single largest source of private funds for cancer research in Israel.[12]

In late 2012, Rahr donated $100,000 to the Salvation Army for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.[13] He also donated $50,000 to help repair the Russian American Jewish Experience (RAJE) in Brighton Beach which was also severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.[14]

Rahr is the largest individual donor to the Metro New York chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[15] In 2013, Rahr donated $10 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the largest contribution in its history.[4][16]

In November 2013, Rahr donated $15 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation bringing his total contributions to PCF to over $25 million to help find a cure for the disease.[17]

In January 2014, Rahr sponsored the flight of 64 members of the Knesset to the memorial service at Auschwitz for Holocaust Remembrance Day.[18][19]

On a visit to Israel, Rahr donated 50 ambulances to United Hatzalah, an organization dedicated to improving response time to those in medical need throughout Israel.[20]

Rahr made a $500,000 donation to the North Shore Animal League America in 2014.[21]

Personal life

In 1969, he married Carol K. Rahr. They had two children, Robert and Felicia.[22][23] In 2012, they announced that they were divorcing.[24] In 2013, Rahr agreed to pay Carol $250 million as a settlement.[25]

In November 2012, Rahr was banned from the restaurant Nobu in New York.[26][4][27] Rahr has an apartment in the Trump Park Avenue building.[4][28] In 2005, Rahr purchased a house in The Hamptons for $45 million, reportedly the highest price ever paid in the state of New York for a single-family home.[29][30][31] He sold a 32nd-floor apartment at 422 East 72nd Street in 2013.[32]

In February 2019, Rahr was identified as the straw purchaser of a portrait of President Trump. According to testimony from Michael Cohen, Rahr bought a nine-foot-tall portrait of Trump from artist William Quigley for $67,000. Trump used funds from his personal foundation to pay back Rahr for the portrait.[33]

References
  1. "Stewart Rahr". Forbes. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  2. "The Rahr of the Crowd". Jewishvoiceny.com. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  3. "Billionaire Philanthropist Stewart Rahr helps young Russian American Jews rebuild after Hurricane Sandy - American Forum of Russian Jewry". Afrj.us. 2012-11-21. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  4. Melby, Caleb (2013-09-17). "Guns, Girls And Sex Tapes: The Unhinged, Hedonistic Saga Of Billionaire Stewart Rahr, 'Number One King Of All Fun'". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  5. Saul, Stephanie (2005-01-26). "Making a Fortune by Wagering That Drug Prices Tend to Rise". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  6. Banjo, Shelly (2010-05-29). "One Man's Wishful Thinking - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  7. "Cardinal Buys Kinray for $1.3 billion". The New York Times. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  8. Dinah Wisenberg Brin, "Cardinal Health to Purchase Kinray", Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2010
  9. Johnson, Richard (27 August 2014). "The party ends for self-made billionaire Stewart Rahr". Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  10. "Billionaire Stewart Rahr Explains How He's Living the American Dream". 16 October 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  11. "Stewart Rahr". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  12. "Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) Honors Artist Peter Max, Mary Max And Oncologist Dr. Yashar Hirsh". Jewishvoiceny.com. 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  13. "Haute 100 NY Update: Billionaire turned philanthropist, Stewart Rahr, donates $100,000 to Sandy Relief Fund". Hauteliving.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  14. "RAJE Benefits From Generosity of Billionaire Stewart Rahr | Jewocity Blog". Jewocity.com. 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  15. "Unveiling Stewart Rahr's Wall of Wishes". The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  16. "Billionaire Stewart Rahr Gives $10 Million Donation To Make-A-Wish". Jewish Business News. 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  17. Smith, Emily (2013-12-11). "Milken's cancer fund raises $24M at gala". Page Six. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  18. Frister, Roman (2014-01-26). "Auschwitz memorial ceremony financed by 'King of Fun' - National Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  19. Jewish Journal: "Flamboyant billionaire Stewart Rahr wows Israel" by Felice Friedson February 3, 2014
  20. Friedson, Felice. "Flamboyant billionaire Stewart Rahr wows Israel | Israel". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  21. Garvey, Marianne (2014-02-03). "Justin Bieber is refused entry to club, parties in New York over Super Bowl weekend". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  22. Rand, Matthew. "Medicine Man". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  23. Melby, Caleb (2013-09-17). "Guns, Girls And Sex Tapes: The Unhinged, Hedonistic Saga Of Billionaire Stewart Rahr, 'Number One King Of All Fun'". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  24. "Wife divorcing billionaire Stewart Rahr after 43 years | Page Six". Nypost.com. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  25. "Rahr, wife settle for $250M | Page Six". Nypost.com. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  26. Rivera, Ray; Goldstein, Joseph (2012-11-21). "Billionaire's Gun License Is Suspended Amid Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  27. Bertoni, Steven (2012-10-24). "How To Get Banned From Nobu: A Billionaire's Guide". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  28. "Property valuation of Park Avenue, Manhattan, NY: (TRUMP PARK AVENUE LLC)". City-data.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  29. Clemence, Sara (2005-01-07). "$45 Million Record". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  30. Saul, Stephanie (2005-01-26). "Making a Fortune by Wagering That Drug Prices Tend to Rise". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  31. Marshall, Randi; Weber, Lauren (2004-12-31). "Newsday - The Long Island and New York City News Source". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  32. Pomorski, Chris. "Pharma Mogul Stewart Rahr Sells UES Condo for $3.9 M. | The New York Observer". Observer.com. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  33. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/michael-cohen-testimony/2019/02/27/089664f0-39fb-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html
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