Jeffrey Brotman

Jeffrey Brotman
Born	(1942-09-27) 27 September 1942 Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Died	1 August 2017(2017-08-01) (aged 74) Medina, Washington, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor, attorney, philanthropist
Known for	Cofounder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation

Jeffrey Hart Brotman (September 27, 1942 – August 1, 2017) was a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, attorney, and philanthropist. He is best known as the cofounder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Early life and education

Born into a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, Brotman was the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman. His grandparents emigrated from the Kingdom of Romania, now Romania, to Saskatchewan, Canada, before his parents eventually established themselves in Tacoma. His father managed Seattle Knitting Mills and, alongside his brothers, ran an 18-store retail chain named Bernie's across Washington and Oregon.

The Brotman family relocated to Seattle in 1965. Jeffrey completed his undergraduate studies in political science at the University of Washington in 1964 and obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1967. During his time at the university, he was affiliated with the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.

Career

Following his academic pursuits in law, Brotman teamed up with his brother Michael to launch Bottoms, a women's jeans retail outlet, which later expanded into the Jeffrey Michael men's apparel chain that operated through the 1990s.

In 1982, Brotman partnered with Jim Sinegal—who had trained under Sol Price, founder of PriceSmart—to establish Costco Wholesale Corporation. He held the position of chairman from the company's founding until his passing, except for a brief period between 1993 and 1994 when he served as vice chairman. By 2017, Costco had grown to encompass 736 warehouse locations. Additionally, Brotman was an early financial backer of Howard Schultz’s Starbucks Corporation.

Philanthropy

Brotman contributed to various corporate boards and maintained extensive professional connections. He was involved with the Million-Dollar Roundtable at United Way of King County and served on the boards of Seafirst Bank and Starbucks. Furthermore, he acted as a trustee for the Seattle Art Museum. Together with his wife Susan, he generously supported numerous initiatives, including funding hundreds of scholarships at the University of Washington and establishing the Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professorship at the UW Law School.

Personal life

He was married to Susan Thrailkill, a former retail executive who also served on Nordstrom's board. The couple had two children: Justin Brotman, known for his activism and business ventures, and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt, a Barnard College alumna engaged in sustainability, philanthropy, and design work.

Brotman passed away peacefully in his sleep at age 74 in Medina, Washington, with heart failure suspected as the cause. He was affiliated with Temple Beth El in Tacoma.