Charles Bluhdorn built his fortune in auto parts and commodities such as zinc, and following a 1966 acquisition became CEO, chairman and president of the Hollywood movie studio Paramount Pictures.
14 Facts About Charles Bluhdorn
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Paramount was a former subsidiary of Gulf and Western Industries, which Bluhdorn purchased in 1956 when it was called the Michigan Plating and Stamping Company.
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Charles Bluhdorn became known in Hollywood for his intense yet gregarious character.
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Charles Bluhdorn appointed the reserved Frank Yablans as president of Paramount and the out-spoken Robert Evans as head of production, an uneasy and ill-matched team that eventually oversaw the release of hit films The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Chinatown.
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Charles Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Paul Bluhdorn.
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In 1946, Charles Bluhdorn went to work at the Cotton Exchange, earning $15 a week.
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In 1956, Charles Bluhdorn acquired Michigan Plating and Stamping, a small auto parts company that eventually grew into Gulf and Western Industries, a conglomerate that ranked 61st in the Fortune 500 by 1981.
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In 1974, Charles Bluhdorn stepped down as chairman of Paramount and hired Barry Diller as Paramount's chairman and CEO.
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Charles Bluhdorn was very aware of the financial potential of the Dominican Republic and invested a significant amount of resources into its social and economic development.
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Charles Bluhdorn is credited as being the father of the Dominican tourism industry.
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Charles Bluhdorn had the idea of using the stones to re-create a sixteenth-century style Mediterranean village, similar to some of the architecture found in the historic center of Santo Domingo.
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Charles Bluhdorn was a friend of former president of the Dominican Republic Joaquin Balaguer and former leader of Cuba Fidel Castro.
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Charles Bluhdorn met Castro at a meeting in Havana, which lasted for around seven hours.
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On February 19,1983, Charles Bluhdorn died aged 56 of a heart attack on his corporate jet while returning home to New York City from his Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic.