Joseph S. Gruss

Joseph Saul Gruss ( March 19, 1903 – July 3, 1993) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire–born American financier, businessman, and philanthropist who supported Jewish education.

Early life Joseph Saul Gruss was born on March 19, 1903, to a Jewish family in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire as one of seven children. which focused on mergers and arbitrage primarily in the oil and gas industries. Thereafter, he engaged in oil and gas exploration and development primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and West Virginia. the Caroline Zelaznik Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Visiting Professorship in Talmudic Civil Law; and the Fund for Jewish Education in association with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies and the United Jewish Appeal of New York. The Gruss Life Monument Fund was founded in 1991 to continue his charitable activities after his death.

Personal life In 1934, he married Caroline Zelaznik (died 1987), a lawyer. and Evelyn Gruss Lipper. His daughter was married to the Hollywood producer, author, and former New York City deputy mayor Kenneth Lipper.