Early Life and Education
Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman was born on June 4, 1937, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He came from a Jewish immigrant family, with his father running a tobacco and candy shop. Zuckerman's early education included Adath Israel School and Strathcona Academy. He entered McGill University at 16, graduating with a B.A. in 1957 and a B.C.L. in 1961. He pursued further education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, earning an MBA with distinction, and received an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 1962.
Rise to Success
After his education, Zuckerman became a U.S. citizen in 1977. He began his career in real estate, working at Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, where he advanced to Senior Vice President and CFO. In 1970, he co-founded Boston Properties with Edward H. Linde. Boston Properties became one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the United States. Zuckerman took Boston Properties public in 1997.
Key Business Strategies
Zuckerman's business strategies included focusing on Class A office properties in major U.S. cities such as Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.. He also expanded into media, acquiring The Atlantic magazine in 1980, U.S. News & World Report in 1984, and the New York Daily News in 1993.
Philanthropy
Zuckerman has been involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors. In 2004, he pledged $10 million to Harvard University for a fellowship program. In 2006, he pledged $100 million to Memorial Sloan Kettering's new cancer research facility. In 2012, he pledged $200 million to endow the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University. Additionally, in 2016, he launched a $100 million initiative to promote scientific ties between North America and Israel.