Arnold A. Saltzman

Arnold Asa Saltzman (October 1, 1916 – January 2, 2014) was an American businessman, diplomat, art collector, and philanthropist, based in New York.

Early life, marriage and family Saltzman was born on October 1, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian immigrant father, Isidore, and his wife Dora. It was a Jewish family and he had two sisters. He was elected vice president of the student government, and was named class orator by his senior class.

He then entered Columbia College within Columbia University, majoring in economics and government. He earned a top-level award for his performance on the Debate Council. Saltzman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1936, at the age of 19. They raised three children, born between 1945 and 1951.

Early business and government career His first job was taken in 1936 with the Premiere Knitting Company, and then by 1944 he was an ensign in it. During the Korean War, he served in the Office of Price Stabilization. He became vice president and a director of Botany Industries, an outgrowth of Botany Mills, from 1959 to 1962. He took a company that mostly made fire-fighting equipment and diversified it via acquisition and other changes into one that did leather processing, made paint and industrial finishes, constructed low-cost houses, and sold mortgages. Around 1970, Saltzman also headed a group that had a 24 percent interest in Trans Beacon Corporation, a movie distribution and theater operation that was a remnant of RKO Pictures.

Diplomatic and political activities In 1957, Saltzman ran for the board of trustees of the village of Great Neck Estates, New York, on the ticket of the newly created local Village Party and in opposition to the entrenched local Citizens Party. Saltzman and the other Village Party candidates were defeated by decisive margins.

A lifelong Democrat, Saltzman served five U.S. presidents as envoys on diplomatic missions. But he had little support in the New York State Democratic Committee,

He was co-author of the 1990 book Bending with the Winds: Kurt Waldheim and the United Nations. In its review, Foreign Affairs magazine said that the book's examination of Kurt Waldheim's career was "meticulously undertaken" and that its recommendations for how the Secretary-General of the United Nations could better be chosen "[make] the book important today".

Later business career Still in business, Saltzman headed Vista Resources (which Seagrave had become), a diversified public company, until selling majority interest in it in 1989. He became chair of the Windsor Production Corporation, a privately held oil, real estate, and investment firm. In 2002, having previously made financial restitution, Saltzman attempted to withdraw that felony plea, have it expunged, and substitute a misdemeanor plea instead, but a federal judge denied the request.

Philanthropic activities In 2003, Columbia University's Institute of War and Peace Studies was renamed the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. Two endowed chairs under the Saltzman name were also added at that time.

He was founding president of the Nassau County Museum of Art, having been given the charge in the late 1980s by the county executive, Thomas Gulotta, to revive and reimagine the county's former Fine Arts Museum. He took a hands-on role in the museum task, to the extent of sometimes coming in direct conflict with the director of the museum. The couple are reflected in the name of the Arnold and Joan Saltzman Fine Arts Building there, where he became chairman emeritus. In 2012, Saltzman was the originating force behind bringing a world-class Marc Chagall exhibit to the museum.

Final years Saltzman died on January 2, 2014, at his home in Sands Point, New York.

Awards and honors Saltzman was given honorary degrees by Adelphi University in 1985 and Hofstra University in 1986.

In 2002, Saltzman was presented with the Order of Honor from the Republic of Georgia, "in recognition of his notable personal contribution to the implementation of international aid programs [and] his active support of Georgia's interest and generous charity work".