Cyril Stein
English bookmaker who built Ladbrokes; Zionist fundraiser and JNF supporter (1928–2011)
| Cyril Stein
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 February 1928 London, England |
| Died | 15 February 2011 Jerusalem |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Bookmaker, businessman, philanthropist |
| Known for | Chairman of Ladbrokes; supporter of the Jewish National Fund and United Jewish Israel Appeal |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Young |
| Children | Jonathan Stein, Daniel Stein, Marion Stein |
Cyril Stein (20 February 1928 – 15 February 2011) was an English bookmaker and businessman who, with his uncle Mark Stein (trading as Max Parker), bought Ladbrokes in 1956 and built it into a major betting and leisure company. He was a leading Anglo-Jewish fundraiser for Zionist causes, including the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA; formerly the Joint Israel Appeal).[1][2][3]
Early life
Stein was born in London into a family of immigrants from Russia. His father, known as “Honest Jack” (Jack Stein), worked for the London and Provincial Sporting News Agency, which relayed information between off-course bookmakers and racecourses.[2][3] He was educated at West Ham Grammar School and briefly at Pitman’s College.[3] He married Betty Young in 1949; they had three children.[4]
Ladbrokes
In 1956, aged 28, Stein and his uncle Mark Stein (who used the professional name Max Parker) bought the bookmaking firm Ladbrokes, founded in 1886, for a reported £100,000.[2][3] Stein became chairman in 1966 and floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 1967, when it was valued at about £1 million.[1] He remained chairman until the end of 1993, by which time the company was valued in the region of £2 billion.[1][2]
Under Stein the firm expanded after the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 came into force on 1 January 1961, opening high-street betting shops on a large scale.[3] Later acquisitions included (among others) overseas racing interests, the purchase of Hilton International hotels outside the United States in 1987 for £645 million, and further leisure and casino businesses; the Hilton hotels were later sold at a large profit.[3][2] His gaming licence was revoked in the early 1980s amid allegations that underhand methods had been used to attract casino customers; he continued in the wider business.[3]
For the company history after Stein’s retirement, including the 2016 merger with Gala Coral / Coral, see Ladbrokes PLC.
Zionist and communal activity
Stein was described by the Jewish Chronicle as “a key fundraiser and supporter of the JNF” and an honorary vice-president of the UJIA.[1] The UK chairman of the JNF, Samuel Hayek, called him on his death “a true and passionate Zionist”.[1]
Jewish National Fund
In November 1961 the Jewish Observer and Middle East Review reported that Alf Rosenberg (J.N.F. Bridge chairman) had been newly elected chairman of the London Regional Council of the J.N.F. “to replace Cyril Stein who retires after two years in office”; L. Latner (Stamford Hill) and M. Clements (St. John’s Wood) were elected vice-chairmen.[5] That places Stein’s chairmanship of the London Regional Council at about 1959–1961. The same paper had already reported a council meeting in September 1960 “under the chairmanship of Cyril Stein”.[6]
On 18 November 1960 the J.N.F. conference elected honorary officers for Great Britain and Ireland. The London vice-presidents’ list included C. Stein (full first name not expanded in the printed list).[7] Evidence grade: probable that this is Cyril Stein (consistent with his London Regional Council role in the same period); not definite, because the list gives only the initial.
On the same JPA–JNF pages of 9 September 1960, the Coombe Hill list for the J.N.F. Golf Championships includes a highlighted V. L. Stein (not Cyril; name-only / different person); Bonnyton’s list includes C. Black and S. Miller.[8]
He later chaired a major JNF project to redevelop land in the Negev (reported as a £10 million or, in some accounts, larger programme).[1]
United Jewish Israel Appeal / Joint Israel Appeal
While a vice-president of the Joint Israel Appeal, Stein criticised Chief Rabbi Lord Jakobovits for describing the plight of Palestinian refugees as a “stain on humanity”, writing that “The foolishness of your latest outburst is beyond comprehension.”[1]
Joint Palestine Appeal (vice-chairman, 1972)
A Joint Palestine Appeal letter on JPA letterhead dated 20 December 1972 (Rex House, 4–12 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4PG; American Jewish Archives copy) lists Cyril Stein among the Vice-Chairmen, together with Rosser Chinn, Trevor Chinn, Harold H. Poster and John B. Rubens. Other officers printed on the letterhead include founder the late Lord Marks of Broughton; Hon. Presidents the Chief Rabbi (Dr. Immanuel Jakobovits), Dr. S. Gaon and Sir Isaac Wolfson, Bart.; President J. Edward Sieff; Vice-President Hyam Morrison; Chairman Michael M. Sacher; Deputy Chairman I. Jack Lyons; Hon. Treasurer Stuart Young; Executive Vice-Chairman for Israel and Director Michael Barzilay; Executive Director A. A. Klein. Affiliated bodies listed include Keren Hayesod, the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Philanthropic Association for Israel and the Middle East, the Society of Friends of Jewish Refugees, and the J.N.F. Charitable Trust.[9]
The Joint Palestine Appeal was a predecessor of the Joint Israel Appeal (from 1973) and later the United Jewish Israel Appeal.
Labour Friends of Israel and communal dinners
Stein was a major funder of Labour Friends of Israel.[4] In 1990 he and JNF UK president Chinn (both also vice-chairmen of the Jewish Philanthropic Association) withdrew funding from Labour Friends of Israel in protest at a joint meeting with the Middle East Council at the Labour Party conference.[10]
On 25 November 1960 the Jewish Observer pictured him at a Guildhall dinner in honour of World Zionist Organisation president Nahum Goldmann, with the caption “Cyril Stein, Barnett Janner, M.P., Nahum Goldmann, J. Maitlis”; the dinner raised £30,000 for the Zionist Federation Day Schools project.[11]
During the Six-Day War in 1967 he reportedly installed telephones in his London boardroom to raise funds for Israel.[2]
Settlements, Jerusalem and other projects
In the 1980s Ladbrokes won a large contract (reported as about $250 million) for the Mamilla redevelopment project in Jerusalem.[12]
In 2007 he funded construction of a property at Givat Harel in the occupied West Bank; he did not move from London to live there.[1] He was associated with support for Machanayim, which works with Jews from the former Soviet Union.[?][13]
He was also a trustee of the Jewish Education Development Trust and a trustee and chairman of the governors of Carmel College.[4]
Cyril Stein Foundation
In 1969 he founded the Cyril Stein Foundation (Charity Commission no. 258605), whose objects include the relief of poverty among Jews, with power to support other charities with similar objects.[14]
Death
Stein died in Jerusalem on 15 February 2011, aged 82.[1][2]
See also
- Ladbrokes PLC
- Max Parker (Mark Stein)
- Jewish National Fund
- United Jewish Israel Appeal
- Max Benjamin — organiser of the 1962 Celtic–Real Madrid JNF match in Glasgow, whose programme carried a Ladbroke Company Limited compliments page (see Ladbrokes PLC)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Marcus Dysch, Ladbrokes founder Cyril Stein dies, Jewish Chronicle, 16 February 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Cyril Stein, The Telegraph, February 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Michael Freedland, Cyril Stein obituary, The Guardian, 6 March 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cyril Stein, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026.
- ↑ “Alf Rosenberg to lead L.R.C.”, Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 24 November 1961, JPA–JNF News, p. 22, via archive.org (David’s annotated copy; “Cyril Stein” highlighted).
- ↑ Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 9 September 1960, JPA-JNF News, p. 26 (annotated copy; name highlighted).
- ↑ “The Year’s Officers”, Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 18 November 1960, JPA–JNF News, p. 30 (David’s annotated copy; “C. Stein” highlighted).
- ↑ Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 9 September 1960, JPA-JNF News (golf lists; annotated copy).
- ↑ JPA letter, M. Garfield (Chief Accountant) to Andrea Golstein, United Jewish Appeal, Jerusalem, 20 December 1972 (American Jewish Archives copy; “CYRIL STEIN” highlighted among Vice-Chairmen).
- ↑ “Israel’s friends make enemies”, The Times, 4 October 1990.[?]
- ↑ Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 25 November 1960, p. 15.
- ↑ Samson Krupnick, “$250 M. Mamilla Project launched”, Indiana Jewish Post and Opinion, 28 June 1989.
- ↑ Machanayim project description.[?]
- ↑ Charity Commission, Cyril Stein Foundation, charity 258605.