Stephen M. Kellen

Stephen and Ana-Marie Kellen receiving an award from Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowerit, 2002Stephen M. Kellen (April 21, 1914 – February 11, 2004) was a German-born American investment banker and philanthropist. A longtime executive at Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, he contributed to postwar German reconstruction and strengthened U.S.–German relations through his work in finance and philanthropy, notably supporting the American Academy in Berlin. Early life and education Stephen Max Katzenellenbogen was born in Berlin to a family of Jewish heritage, where they had lived for five generations. Katzenellenbogen attended the Französisches Gymnasium in Berlin and then studied at a commercial institute.

Banking Career Katzenellenbogen left Germany in 1936, fleeing the Nazis He was president from 1955 to 1994, and co-chairman of the board until his death. The grant was made following suggestions from former U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and historian Fritz Stern. Kellen and his family have continued to support the academy since its opening in 1998

Through his family foundation, Kellen supported arts and cultural institutions, including guest performances by the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and the restoration of the Heinrich Heine monument in New York, created by Ernst Herter. Other organizations associated with his philanthropy include the Council on Foreign Relations, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the National Gallery of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Frick Collection, Lincoln Center, and the New School University.

Honors In 1991, Kellen received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1997, he and his wife received the New York “Spirit of the City” award for their charitable work. On May 6, 2002, he was awarded the Ernst Reuter Plaque for contributions to the city of Berlin, and in 2004 he was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. In 2004 Kellen was awarded the Order of the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. and is an active philanthropist in New York City, contributing to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Morgan Libraryy, and the Metropolitan Opera.