Walter Annenberg
Walter Annenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | October 1, 2002 (aged 94) Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, diplomat |
| Years active | 1942–2002 |
| Known for | Managing Triangle Publications; U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1969–1974); founding the Annenberg Foundation |
Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. He managed Triangle Publications, which encompassed titles such as The Philadelphia Inquirer, TV Guide, the Daily Racing Form, and Seventeen. President Richard Nixon appointed him as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, a position he held from 1969 until 1974.
Throughout his tenure as ambassador, Annenberg forged a strong rapport with Queen Elizabeth II and members of the British royal family. Although he encountered some initial challenges, he earned admiration for his dedication, his wife’s prominent social engagements, and his substantial support for British initiatives, including financing the restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral and refurbishing Winfield House, the official ambassadorial residence.
In his later years, Annenberg became one of America’s foremost philanthropists. He established the Annenberg Foundation in 1989 and contributed over $2 billion toward education and cultural institutions, such as the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. His estate, Sunnylands near Palm Springs, California, served as a retreat for presidents, royalty, and celebrities and is now maintained as a museum and conference center that continues to promote the Annenberg legacy.
Early life
Born into a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 1908, Walter Annenberg was the sole son of Sadie Cecelia (Friedman; 1879–1965) and Moses Annenberg, who published the Daily Racing Form and acquired ownership of The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1936. Walter struggled with a stammer from an early age.
He had seven sisters: Diana Annenberg (1900–1905), Esther Annenberg Simon Levee (1901–1992), Janet Annenberg Hooker (1904–1997), Enid Annenberg Bensinger Haupt (1906–2005), Lita Annenberg Hazen (1909–1995), Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall (1911–2005), and Harriet Beatrice Annenberg Ames Aronson (1914–1969).
The family moved to Long Island, New York in 1920. Walter completed his education at Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey in 1927 before briefly attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he did not graduate. During his college years, he was affiliated with Zeta Beta Tau, a Jewish fraternity.
The legal troubles and tax evasion accusations faced by his father during the 1930s had a lasting impact on Walter, shaping much of his subsequent philanthropic focus and efforts to rehabilitate the family name.
Business career
Following his father’s passing in 1942, Annenberg assumed control of the family enterprises, revitalizing underperforming assets while expanding into new areas including print media, radio broadcasting, and television. He notably launched TV Guide in 1952 despite early doubts about its financial viability and also introduced Seventeen. By the decade of the 1970s, TV Guide was generating weekly earnings ranging from $600,000 to $1 million.
Annenberg used his publishing influence to shape political outcomes. His newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer played an instrumental role in dismantling corruption within Philadelphia’s city government in 1949, advocated for the Marshall Plan, and opposed McCarthyism. In 1966, he deployed the Inquirer against Democrat Milton Shapp’s gubernatorial campaign due to Shapp’s resistance to a railroad merger that would benefit Annenberg’s business interests; this media campaign was regarded as a factor in Shapp’s electoral defeat.
During his appointment process as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain in 1969, an editorial in TV Guide shifted its position on the Smothers Brothers, aligning with President Nixon’s efforts to regulate network programming content. Upon receiving the ambassadorship from Nixon, Annenberg gained popularity within Britain and was honored as an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple as well as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).
Annenberg’s opulent lifestyle included entertaining influential figures such as President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II, and various celebrities at his Sunnylands estate located in Rancho Mirage, California. He also played a pivotal role in orchestrating meetings between Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His wife Leonore held the position of Chief of Protocol during Reagan’s administration.
He contributed to advisory boards like U.S. English and was a proponent of public television. Among his accolades were the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement (1985), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986), Linus Pauling Medal for Humanitarianism, Eisenhower Medal for Leadership (1988), Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (1998), and Officer rank in France’s Legion of Honor. He was inducted into both the American Philosophical Society (1990) and became a Fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1995).
In 1988, Annenberg sold Triangle Publications—including TV Guide—to Rupert Murdoch for $3 billion before dedicating himself fully to philanthropy. His collection of French impressionist paintings was valued at $1 billion by 1991 and was bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art posthumously. In 1990, he made a landmark $50 million contribution to the United Negro College Fund—the largest donation ever received by that organization—and supported Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute.
Annenberg earned recognition as Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Person of the Year in 1983 and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1995, he received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen from the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
Philanthropy
Throughout his life, Annenberg contributed more than $2 billion, underscoring his belief that "education... holds civilization together." His name is associated with a wide array of institutions nationwide, including schools, libraries, theaters, hospitals, and museums.
He was the driving force behind the creation of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. In 1993, he made a landmark gift of $100 million to The Peddie School, marking the largest inflation-adjusted donation ever made to an educational institution.
During the 1980s, Annenberg launched the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences located in Rancho Mirage, California. He also initiated the Annenberg Fellowship at Eton College, a year-long program designed for outstanding U.S. college seniors from leading universities to teach and act as cultural emissaries. The Annenberg Foundation was established by him in 1989. Four years later, he introduced the Annenberg Challenge—a $500 million, five-year campaign aimed at reforming American public education, representing the single largest philanthropic contribution in that sector.
In 2009, the Annenberg Foundation supported the establishment of The Annenberg Space for Photography; however, this venue ceased operations in 2019.
Personal life
Annenberg wed Bernice Veronica Dunkelman, daughter of Canadian entrepreneur David Dunkelman, in 1939. Their union produced two children: Wallis and Roger. Tragically, Roger died by suicide in 1962; Harvard University honors his memory through Roger Annenberg Hall. The couple ended their marriage in 1950.
The following year, in 1951, Annenberg married Leonore "Lee" Cohn, who was related to Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures. Though both hailed from Jewish backgrounds, the Annenbergs were not observant and traditionally celebrated holidays such as Easter and Christmas with family. In recognition of their contributions to the arts, Walter and Leonore Annenberg were awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1993.
Death
Walter Annenberg passed away on October 1, 2002, at his residence in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania due to complications from pneumonia at age 94. He was survived by his wife Leonore (1918–2009), daughter Wallis, two sisters—Enid A. Haupt and Evelyn Hall—along with seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, including descendants from his wife’s earlier marriages.