Who

Jon Tisch is the billionaire co-chair of Loews Corp., the holding company founded by his father and uncle. He's one of three members of the family who lead the company: His first cousin, Jim Tisch, is Loews's CEO; Jim's older brother, Andrew Tisch, serves as co-chair.

Backstory

Preston Robert ("Bob") Tisch and Laurence ("Larry") Tisch founded the family business in 1946 when they borrowed money from their parents to purchase a hotel in New Jersey for $375,000; a decade later, they had parlayed their one property into a small hotel empire stretching from Miami to New York. The brothers soon diversified into other industries, buying a movie chain from MGM and purchasing Lorillard in 1968, the maker of Newport, Kent and True cigarettes. The Lorillard deal established the company's formula for decades to come: acquiring undervalued businesses in out-of-favor industries. In the 1970s, the Tisches purchased the failing insurance company CNA and the struggling watch manufacturer Bulova. A decade later, Bob and Larry turned to media, acquiring a significant stake in CBS, which they sold in 1995 for a $1 billion profit. They spent the 1990s picking up oil rigs, tankers, and gas pipelines.

Of note

Today Loews Corp. is a publicly-traded company that generates some $16 billion a year in revenue and is overseen by three of Larry and Bob's kids. There's Jim, who took over as CEO in 1999; Jim's brother, Andrew, who serves as co-chair and was actively involved with the company's recently spun-off tobacco subsidiary; and Bob's son, Jon, who serves as the other co-chair. Like his first cousins, Jon has been working for the family conglomerate for his entire career: He started out as a front-desk clerk at one of the family's hospitality properties when he was in college and now serves as chief executive of Loews Hotels, where he oversees a portfolio of 18 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada, including the Regency Hotel in New York. He also helps manage a number of assets under the family's control like the New York Giants, which Bob Tisch acquired a 50 percent stake in for $75 million in 1991. Jon serves as the team's treasurer.

Family ties

Jon's brother is Steve Tisch, the movie producer responsible for such films as Risky Business, Forrest Gump, and The Postman. Steve also helps manage the family investment in the Giants and serves as the team's executive vice president. Jon and Steve's sister is Laurie Tisch Sussman, a prolific presence on non-profit boards throughout the city. Their octogenarian mother, Joan Tisch, had led the family's philanthropic activities for more than half a century.

Pet causes

Since the 1960s, the Tisch family has collectively donated more than $100 million to NYU, including $30 million in 1989 to endow NYU's Tisch Hospital. Jon has been particularly generous to his alma mater, Tufts; he made a $40 million donation to the school in 2006 and serves on the board. He's also on the board of trustees of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Tribeca Film Institute. From 2002 to February 2008 Tisch was the chairman of NYC & Company, the city's official tourism agency, a position his father held for many years when it was called the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Personal

Jonathan married Laura Steinberg, the daughter of financier Saul Steinberg, in 1987; the $3 million storybook wedding attracted more than 500 boldfaced names to the Met's Temple of Dendur. Tisch and Steinberg divorced several years later and he married for a second time in October 2007; his new wife is Lizzie Rudnick, who until recently was an insurance broker in London. In January 2008, Tisch sold his co-op at 950 Fifth Avenue to Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz for $24.75 million. After renting a $75,000-a-month apartment at Trump Park Avenue for a few months, he reportedly paid $48 million for an even bigger place on East 67th Street.  He spends weekends at his home in Bridgehampton.