October 2, 2017

 

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have” — Vince Lombardi

Everyone knows about Lombardi’s brilliant career and Hall of Fame awards. For me, his time as a member of the “Seven Blocks of Granite” and as coach at my alma mater Fordham University are the most meaningful. Let me explain.

I was born during World War II and grew up in the Bronx. When I was around five years old I started my first business, setting up a shoe shine box at the Third Avenue El 174th Street station. Lots of other entrepreneurial pursuits followed, including the sale of coffee and cigarettes at bingo games, caddying and running dances.

My education started rather inauspiciously, as I was left back in first grade of public school for truancy. My mother got wise to my wanderings and enrolled me in a Catholic school where there was more discipline. High school at Fordham Prep included four years of disciplinary actions. I owe a lot to the teachers who kept me on the straight and narrow and ultimately I was the first member of my family to go to college.

Attending the graduate program at Columbia Business School changed my life. My “aha” moment came sitting in the classroom of the value investing professor Roger Murray. The sun, moon and stars all aligned. Half a century later, the same principles I learned that semester continue to guide all of our teammates and our firm. A teacher really does affect eternity.

Our family foundation has supported dozens of various causes over these many years, but our main focus is on education. Clearly it is the single most important thing that helped me achieve financial success. My family and I have a deep seated belief that the foundations of our country include the rule of law, the free market system, and meritocracy. Education generates the underpinning for meritocracy. In a grander sense, education is the transfer of accumulated knowledge for the benefit of all mankind. For me personally, Lombardi’s words sum up my desire to give back to the ecosystem that helped me at every stepping stone of my life.

Regina joins me in saying thank you to Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates for initiating the Giving Pledge. I am humbled to be among those who have joined it.