Walter Annenberg's Birthday

Today is Walter Annenberg's birthday. He was born March 13, 1908 died October 1, 2002. He was a billionaire publisher and philanthropist. At age 32, after his father's death, he took over the family businesses and even made successes out of some that had been failing. He bought other print media as well as radio stations and television stations, successfully managing them as well. His biggest success was the creation of TV Guide www.tvguide.com in 1952, which he started against the advice of his financial advisors. He also created and made fortunes from the Daily Racing Form www.dailyracingform.com and Seventeen magazine. While he ran his publishing empire as a business, he was not afraid to use it for his own ends, both good and bad. One of hit publications, the Inquirer, was influential in ridding Philadelphia of its corrupt city government in 1949. It also attacked Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s when most other publications feared McCarthy. It campaigned for the Marshall Plan after World War II. He eventually sold the Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News to Knight Ridder for $55 million in 1970. Annenberg led a lavish lifestyle, enjoying his riches. His winter estate "Sunnylands" in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs hosted gatherings with such people as Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Charles, Prince of Wales. It was Annenberg who introduced Reagan to Margaret Thatcher, and the Reagans often celebrated New Year's Eve with the Annenbergs. Even while an active businessman, he had an interest in public service. After the sale of the Philadelphia papers, he established the Annenberg School For Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, which has become the premier school for communication in the United States. In 1989 he created the Annenberg Foundation, then, in 1993 he created the Annenberg Challenge, a $500 million, five-year reform effort, and the largest single gift ever made to American public education. In 1998 he sold TV Guide, Seventeen, and a few other publications to Australian publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch for $3 billion, announcing that he would devote the rest of his life to philanthropy. The Annenberg Foundation gave away billions, mostly to educational institutions. "Education...", he once said, "holds civilization together." Many school buildings, libraries, theaters, hospitals, and museums all over the United States now bear Annenberg's name. It is estimated that he gave over $2 billion in his lifetime. Annenberg died at his home in Wyneewood, Pennsylvania in October 2002, at the age of 94.