Sidney Kimmel

Sidney J. Kimmel (born January 16, 1928) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and film producer. He is ranked 2141st in the Forbes list of the richest people alive in 2021.

Personal life Kimmel was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a cab driver. He attended Temple University, but did not graduate. He now lives in California with his wife Caroline Davis, the former wife of Leonard Tose. Kimmel is featured on Old Jews Telling Jokes. In 2017, they placed the property on the market for $81.5 million. They reduced the price to $65.2 million in August 2018.

Career Kimmel founded Jones Apparel Group in 1970 while working at W. R. Grace and Company. Five years later, he purchased Jones Apparel Group with a partner. Notable lines produced by Kimmel include Jones New York, Evan-Picone, and 9 West; he also has licensing deals with Ralph Lauren. He stepped down as chief executive officer of Jones in 2002 and sold most of his shares in the publicly traded company, but remained chairman of the board of directors until the sale of the company to Sycamore Partners in 2014. Kimmel funded the erotic drama 9½ Weeks. He owns art, real estate, a film production company Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, and a small stake in the professional NBA basketball team Miami Heat.

In 1993, Kimmel founded the Sidney Kimmel Foundation. The foundation's Cancer Research division pledged to contribute $120 million to institutions serving healthcare, education, arts and culture. Later, in 2001, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research donated $150 million to Johns Hopkins University. The donation became the largest single gift ever received by the University, and was directed toward the development of a residence for cancer patients undergoing extended treatment. The gift inspired the university to name the residence the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. In total Kimmel has his name attached to four separate cancer-research centers in Philadelphia, New York, San Diego and Baltimore. As of April 2003, Kimmel and the Sidney Kimmel Foundation had donated an estimated $400 million. Kimmel donated $25 million to Stand Up To Cancer.

In 2025, Kimmel and his wife contributed $27.5 million to support the soon-to-be-constructed Caroline Kimmel Pavilion for Arts and Communication at Temple University. This is the second largest gift in the university's history, and the new building will be home to the Klein College of Media and Communication and the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts. It is set to open in the fall of 2027.

Support for cold fusion research Kimmel has given $5.5 million to the University of Missouri to create the Sidney Kimmel Institute for Nuclear Renaissance, SKINR, where researchers will "figure out why excess heat has been observed when hydrogen or deuterium interacts with materials such as palladium, nickel or platinum under extreme conditions.", Originally named "cold fusion," nowadays the name low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR) is also used.

Filmography Producer

9½ Weeks (1986) Neverwas (2005) Trust the Man (2005) Slow Burn (2005) Alpha Dog (2006) Copying Beethoven (2006) Griffin & Phoenix (2006) Death at a Funeral (2007) Talk to Me (2007) Charlie Bartlett (2007) Married Life (2007) Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Synecdoche, New York (2008) Management (2008) All God's Children Can Dance (2008) Adventureland (2009) Death at a Funeral (2010) The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) One for the Money (2012) Gone (2012) The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) Stand Up Guys (2012) Parker (2013) All Is Bright (2013) Mr. Morgan's Last Love (2023) (Co-producer) I, Frankenstein (2014) Walk of Shame (2014) Sleeping with Other People (2015) The Age of Adaline (2015) Demolition (2015) Hell or High Water (2016) The Book of Henry (2017) Brad's Status (2017) Greta (2018) The Jesus Rolls (2019) Delhi Crime (2019) Palmer (2019) Alice + Freda Forever (TBA)

Executive producer

The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986) (Co-executive producer) The Night We Never Met (1993) Mother (1995) (Direct-to-video) Curtain Call (1998) Lisa Picard Is Famous (2000) Town & Country (2001) Crazy Little Thing (2002) Separation Anxiety (2002) The Emperor's Club (2002) Breach (2007) The Kite Runner (2007) Moneyball (2011) Cloudburst (2011) Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Flag Day (2021) Final Cut (2022) Thai Cave Rescue (2022) God Is a Bullet (2023) Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (2023)

Presenter

Blame It on Rio (1984) Mother (1995)