- Jack Brod
Infobox Person
name = Jack Brod
image_size =
caption =
birth_name = Irven Brod
birth_date =November 29 1909
birth_place = Newnan, Georgia,United States
death_date =January 6 2008
death_place =Manhattan ,New York ,United States
occupation =Business man
nationality = flagicon|USA AmericanIrven "Jack" Brod (
November 29 1909 –January 6 2008 ) was an Americanbusiness man and innovator. He was thePresident of Empire Diamond and Gold Buying Service, currently a successfulNew York City -basedjewellery business, which he established with his father in theEmpire State Building two months after its opening in 1931. Brod was atenant of the Empire State Building for around seventy-seven years, and was the last remaining original tenant at the time of his death. cite news |first=Douglas|last=Martin|title=Jack Brod, Early Tenant of Skyscraper, Dies at 98 | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/nyregion/13brod.html?_r=1&oref=slogin|work=The New York Times |publisher= |date=2008-01-13 |accessdate=2008-01-22]Early life
Brod was born in Newnan, Georgia to parents who emigrated from
Russia and changed their last name from "Brodsky". Brod attended theUniversity of Alabama , although he did not continue his studies after moving toNew York City with his family prior to graduation. Before partnering with his father, Alexander, in leading the Empire Diamond and Gold Buying Service, Brod was employed as aprivate investigator , amongst other professions.During
World War II , after forming the business in New York, Brod served in the Army Air Corps as acorporal . He was assigned by the Corps toEngland , where he loadedbomb s into aircraft. During his assignment, he purchased rare antiques and collectibles from the formerly-wealthy owners of English houses who had suffered due to the war and theGreat Depression . Brod shipped the items back to the United States by boat for sale and private collection.Professional career
The
Empire State Building was opened by U.S. PresidentHerbert Hoover onMay 1 1931 . Exactly two months later—onJuly 1 1931 —Brod and his father moved into the seventh floor and established what became the Empire Diamond and Gold Buying Service (commonly known as Empire Diamond), making use of the name of the building it occupied forradio advertising purposes. The first office was convert|400|sqft in area, and at the time of the establishment of the business, work was still being completed on the interior of the building in thelobby and the upper parts of the tower.Following his duties in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Brod returned to his business. He innovated, producing new ideas including one of the earliest jewellery
catalogue s and a toll-freetelephone service fordiamond orders. During Brod's life, his business moved locations within the tower, with the "moving up" given asynonymous comparison to the success of the Empire Diamond business. His company moved up to the 14th floor, before relocating to the 15th and then the 66th. During 2001, Brod invested in another move—to the 76th floor—which was the final before his death in 2008.Brod was, as of 2008, the longest-ever tenant of the Empire State Building, and was also the last of the original tenants to end tenancy in the building (either through death or relocation to another site). He worked six days per week up until his death, aged 98, because "he love(d) selling diamonds", and often joked that he'd only retire from employment when "they plant me".
Personal life
Brod had a strong interest in boating, and sailed well into his 80s. He owned a boatyard on City Island in the
the Bronx , and also owned a boat production factory inNewfoundland and Labrador ,Canada . He was married (and subsequently divorced) three times, and was survived by two sons and two daughters, and three grandchildren.
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