Stewart Rahr
Stewart J. Rahr | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, investor, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | Founder and owner of Kinray |
| Spouse | Carol K. Rahr (m. 1969; div. 2012) |
| Children | 2 (Robert and Felicia) |
Stewart J. Rahr is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist known for founding and owning Kinray, a pharmaceutical and generic drug wholesaler. Before its acquisition by Cardinal Health in 2010, Kinray was the largest privately held pharmaceutical distributor worldwide. The transaction elevated Rahr to billionaire status.
Early life and career
Raised in a Jewish household in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, Rahr gained early experience working at his father's retail pharmacy located in Brooklyn. After completing his education at Poly Prep Country Day School in 1963, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University. He briefly enrolled in NYU Law School but left to oversee the family pharmacy enterprise, which at the time generated $50,000 in annual sales.
Rahr shifted the company’s focus toward wholesale pharmaceutical distribution, transforming it into Kinray Inc. By 2010, Kinray serviced over 2,000 pharmacies throughout the Northeastern United States and reported revenues surpassing $5 billion. His growth strategy involved accumulating large pharmaceutical inventories and leveraging drug price increases to boost profit margins on sales to retailers. This approach later sparked ethical debates regarding consumer impact, leading manufacturers to impose restrictions on distributors’ stockpiling practices.
In 2010, Rahr sold Kinray to Cardinal Health for $1.3 billion, securing his status as a self-made billionaire. A decade later, in 2020, he was ranked number 359 on the Forbes 400 list of America’s wealthiest individuals.
Philanthropy
In 2012, Rahr contributed $640,000 to the Israel Cancer Research Fund to aid cancer research initiatives in Israel. That same year, he donated $100,000 to the Salvation Army for relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy, along with $50,000 to restore the Russian American Jewish Experience (RAJE) center in Brighton Beach, which had sustained storm damage.
The following year, Rahr became the largest single donor to the Metro New York chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, providing a historic gift of $10 million—the foundation’s most substantial donation to date.
In January 2014, he funded the transportation of 64 Knesset members to attend the Auschwitz memorial ceremony on Holocaust Remembrance Day. During a February visit to Israel, Rahr financed new ambulances for United Hatzalah, supporting enhanced emergency medical services. Additionally, he gave $500,000 that year to the North Shore Animal League America.
Political activity
Rahr financially supported Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential bid with a contribution of $250,000.
Personal life
Rahr married Carol K. Rahr in 1969; together they had two children named Robert and Felicia. The couple divorced in 2012, culminating in a $250 million settlement agreement reached in 2013.
In November 2012, Rahr was prohibited from entering the New York restaurant Nobu. He owns an apartment within the Trump Park Avenue complex and acquired a residence in The Hamptons for $45 million in 2005. In 2013, he sold an apartment located on 72nd Street.
In February 2019, Rahr was reported as the purchaser of a nine-foot-tall portrait of President Trump for $67,000; Trump reimbursed this amount through his personal foundation.
In March 2021, Rahr sold his expansive 18,000-square-foot waterfront property known as Burn Point on Georgica Pond in Wainscott, New York for $49.7 million—a property he had owned since 2004.