Edgar Bronfman

(1929- )

By Ariel Scheib

Edgar Miles Bronfman was born on June 20, 1929, in Montreal, Canada. His father is Samuel Bronfman, the founder of Seagram. In 1951, he graduated from McGill University with a B.A.; after graduation he immediately joined the family business. He moved to New York and became a United States citizen. In 1957, he took over as head of Seagram’s American division. In 1966, Brofman took over chairmanship of MGM. Following his father’s death in 1971, Bronfman took over as president, treasurer, and director of Seagrams Ltd.

Bronfman began an active leadership role with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in the early 1970s. In 1981, Bronfman was elected president of the WJC, the federation of Jewish communities outside Israel. During the 1980s and 1990s Bronfman became internationally recognized through his hard work and dedication to preserving Judaism throughout the world. A few of his campaigns included freeing Soviet Jewry and compensating victims of the Holocaust, especially from the Swiss banks.

Edgar Bronfman is also a philantrophist who has given large amounts of money to Jewish causes.

In 1996, he published his autobiography, The Making of a Jew.

Sources: “Edgar Bronfman (1929- ).” American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Desk Reference, (NY: Random House, 1999) pg. 212

Edgar Miles Bronfman: Wikipedia