18 Facts About Warren Alpert

Warren Alpert was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Warren Alpert's privately held businesses distributed gasoline, tobacco and food, and operated a chain of convenience stores and gas stations in the Northeastern United States.

Warren Alpert gave away much of his fortune to support medical research at universities and hospitals, donating hundreds of millions of dollars.

At age 13, Warren Alpert started selling towels and sheets out of the trunk of his father's car.

Warren Alpert graduated from Chelsea High School and sold hats after school.

Warren Alpert worked seven days a week while earning his bachelor's degree from Boston University, graduating in 1942.

Warren Alpert served in military intelligence during World War II, was wounded on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of France, and received a Purple Heart.

Warren Alpert worked for Standard Oil of California for several years before returning to the east coast to start his own business in 1950.

Warren Alpert had a used car, $1000 in savings and a $9000 loan from an older brother.

Warren Alpert was able to pay back the loan his brother had given him.

Warren Alpert's privately held businesses had no long term debt and had annual sales of $2 billion at the time of his death.

Warren Alpert stepped down from active management of his businesses in 1993, turning over control to his nephew, Herbert Kaplan.

In 1974, Warren Alpert donated money to Boston University to convert a parking lot to a tree lined park with a grassy berm to cut down on traffic noise.

Warren Alpert donated money to the Harvard Business School, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Sutton Place Synagogue in Manhattan.

In 1993, Warren Alpert donated $20 million to the Harvard Medical School.

In 2007, five weeks before his death, Warren Alpert donated $100 million to the medical school at Brown University in Providence, the city where his business was headquartered.

Warren Alpert was an outgoing man of simple tastes who did not own a yacht or a private plane or employ a chauffeur.

Warren Alpert died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on March 3,2007.