Early Life
Wilma “Billie” Stein Tisch was born on June 25, 1927, in Long Branch, New Jersey. She grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and came from humble beginnings. Her father, Joseph Stein, a journalist and automotive entrepreneur, and her mother, Rose Liebesman Stein, the daughter of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, instilled in her a sense of community. She attended public schools and later graduated from Skidmore College in 1948 with a B.S. in economics and a minor in accounting.
Rise to Success
Wilma Tisch married Laurence Tisch in 1948. Her influence in the business world stems from her late husband, Laurence, and his brother Robert, who built Loews Corporation. Loews started as a hotel venture in 1946 and expanded into diverse investments including oil drilling, natural gas pipelines, and insurance. Today, Loews is a publicly traded holding company. Following the death of her husband in 2003, Wilma, along with her sister-in-law Joan Tisch, oversaw the multibillion-dollar family fortune. James Tisch, one of her sons, is the current CEO of Loews Corporation.
Key Business Strategies
The success of the Tisch family lies in the strategy of identifying and holding undervalued assets, turning them around, and holding them for the long term. This value-investing approach allowed Loews to diversify from hotels to movie theaters, tobacco, insurance, and energy, leading to significant revenue growth. CNA Financial, an insurance company acquired in 1974, became a core pillar of the corporation's financial strength.
Philanthropy
Wilma Tisch is a dedicated philanthropist. She has served as a trustee of Blythedale Children's Hospital since 1962 and a member of the Distribution Committee of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies since 1969, later becoming its chairman. She was the first woman president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies from 1980 to 1983. Her contributions have been recognized with an honorary doctorate from New York University in 2006. The Wilma S. & Laurence A. Tisch Foundation supports initiatives in arts, education, health, and human services.