William Davidson (industrialist)

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William Morse "Bill" Davidson, JD (born December 5, 1922 in Detroit , Michigan - † March 13, 2009 ) was an American billionaire and patron and promoter in the sports field.

life and work

William Davidson graduated from the University of Michigan . In 1949 he completed his law degree at Wayne State University , where he also received his doctorate.

Davidson was President and CEO of the American glass manufacturer Guardian Industries .

Davidson was Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the US state of Michigan. In 1981, he set up his first Guardian plant outside the USA in Luxembourg, Europe. He was honored with the distinction of Grand Officer of the Order of Merit and Commander of the Order of the Oak Crown . In 2004 he received the Luxembourg American Business Award .

He was a well-known patron and is, among other things, namesake of the Jewish Theological Seminary ’s graduate school of education in Detroit and the Davidson Institute of Science Education at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, as well as the founder of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

In the "List of the 400 Richest Americans" Forbes Magazine , he was listed at number 62; his net worth was estimated at $ 5.5 billion.

Sports sponsors, teams

Davidson had owned the Detroit Pistons basketball club since 1974 . During that time, the Pistons won the NBA title three times (1989, 1990 and 2004) . He was also chairman of the Detroit Shock WNBA team , which won two championships under him (2003 and 2006). He also owned the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team . In 2004 the Lightning won the Stanley Cup . In 2004, Davidson went down in sports history as the first team owner to become champions with teams in various sports leagues.

Davidson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ President of the Guardian group has died ( Memento from October 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Luxemburger Wort, March 17, 2009
  2. ↑ "William Davidson, 86, Philanthropist and Owner of Detroit Pistons, Dies" , The Forward , 18. March 2009
  3. ↑ Report in Guardian ( Memento from May 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Davidson, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Davidson, Bill
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur, Detroit Pistons team owner, patron
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit , Michigan , USA
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 2009