Clarence Dillon
Clarence Dillon, (September 27, 1882 - April 14, 1979), was an American financier, and namesake of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment bank.
Contents
Background
Born Clarence Lapowski, Dillon's father was a Polish-Jewish immigrant, likely born in Łomża, Poland in 1848. In 1884, his family moved to Abilene, Texas. They became naturalized citizens in 1891, legally changing the family name to Dillon on September 17, 1901.[1]. Clarence Dillon graduated from Worcester Academy and then Harvard, in 1905.[2]
Career
Dillon met William A. Read, founder of the Wall Street bond broker William A. Read & Company, through an introduction by his Harvard classmate, William A. Phillips, in 1912. Dillon joined Read's Chicago office in that year and moved to its New York office in 1914. Following Read's death in 1916, Dillon bought a majority interest in the firm. In 1921, company's name was changed to Dillon, Read & Co. [3]
During World War I, Bernard Baruch, Chairman of the War Industries Board, (known as the Czar of American Industry) asked Dillon to be Assistant Chairman of the War Industries Board.
A number of Dillon, Read partners served in senior roles in government, including Dillon and his right hand man, James Forrestal, who served as Secretary of the Navy, and later, Secretary of Defense.
In 1957, Fortune Magazine listed Dillon as one of the richest men in the United States, with a fortune then estimated to be from $150 to $200 million.
Further reading
- Robert C. Perez and Edward F. Willett, Clarence Dillon, a Wall Street enigma (Lanham: Madison, 1975)
Notes
- ↑ Katharyn Duff, Abilene ... On Catclaw Creek (1969), p. 133
- ↑ C. Douglas Dillon, former Treasury secretary and Harvard overseer, dies at 93. January 16, 2003. Harvard University News Office "Dillon and his father, Clarence Dillon '05, also established the Dillon Field House Endowment."
- ↑ Banking Firm Changes
