Koret Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Koret Foundation, along with the Koret Fund, is a private foundation
based in San Francisco, California
. The foundation was organized in 1978 by Joseph and Stephanie Koret, along with Tad Taube, their family friend and Chief Executive Officer
of their women's sportswear
company, Korett of California, Inc. The foundation, endowed initially with the Koretts' clothing fortune, primary supports education, arts, hunger and nutrition and culture, and Jewish causes in the San Francisco Bay Area
, and economic development in the state of Israel
.
of Manhattan
. Koret moved to San Francisco at age 17, began working for his father's men's clothing company, and soon married his first wife, Stephanie Shapiro. In 1937 two founded Koret of California. The company's greatest success arose from its invention in 1961 of Koratron, a new process for permanent press
fabrics that was widely adopted in the clothing industry, eventually earning patent license revenues from more than 400 manufacturers that were far greater than the company's clothing sales.
Due to a series of unsuccessful corporate acquisitions the company was near bankruptcy in 1973, when the Korets convinced their friend, Tad Taube, to take over as CEO. Taube began increasing their fortune through further company growth and successful real estate investment. In the late 1970s Taube convinced the Korets, who had no children, to donate their estate to charity. Stephanie Koret died in 1978. After a series of expansions, divestitures, and a public offering, Koret of California was sold in 1979 to its first patent licensee, Levi Strauss Company. The company was spun off by Levi's in a LBO in 1986, and after further corporate changes is now an Oakland, California
-based subsidiary of Kellwood Company, distributing mid-priced clothing to department store
s throughout the United States.
Joseph Korett married a second time to his then-nurse Susan. They ran the foundation together with Taube until Joseph Koret's death in 1982, at which time Susan Korett became chairperson for life.
The foundation's assets grew from $172 million in 1990 to approximately $400 million in 2008.
Private foundation
A private foundation is a legal entity set up by an individual, a family or a group of individuals, for a purpose such as philanthropy. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion in assets...
based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The foundation was organized in 1978 by Joseph and Stephanie Koret, along with Tad Taube, their family friend and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of their women's sportswear
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
company, Korett of California, Inc. The foundation, endowed initially with the Koretts' clothing fortune, primary supports education, arts, hunger and nutrition and culture, and Jewish causes in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, and economic development in the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
History
Joseph Koret, Russian-American Jew, was born in 1900 and immigrated to the United States the next year. He grew up poor in the Lower East SideLower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Koret moved to San Francisco at age 17, began working for his father's men's clothing company, and soon married his first wife, Stephanie Shapiro. In 1937 two founded Koret of California. The company's greatest success arose from its invention in 1961 of Koratron, a new process for permanent press
Permanent press
A permanent press is a characteristic of fabric that has been chemically processed to resist wrinkles and hold its shape. Alternative terms include wrinkle resistant, wash and wear, no-iron,durable press, and easy care...
fabrics that was widely adopted in the clothing industry, eventually earning patent license revenues from more than 400 manufacturers that were far greater than the company's clothing sales.
Due to a series of unsuccessful corporate acquisitions the company was near bankruptcy in 1973, when the Korets convinced their friend, Tad Taube, to take over as CEO. Taube began increasing their fortune through further company growth and successful real estate investment. In the late 1970s Taube convinced the Korets, who had no children, to donate their estate to charity. Stephanie Koret died in 1978. After a series of expansions, divestitures, and a public offering, Koret of California was sold in 1979 to its first patent licensee, Levi Strauss Company. The company was spun off by Levi's in a LBO in 1986, and after further corporate changes is now an Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
-based subsidiary of Kellwood Company, distributing mid-priced clothing to department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s throughout the United States.
Joseph Korett married a second time to his then-nurse Susan. They ran the foundation together with Taube until Joseph Koret's death in 1982, at which time Susan Korett became chairperson for life.
The foundation's assets grew from $172 million in 1990 to approximately $400 million in 2008.
See also
- Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & CultureTaube Foundation for Jewish Life & CultureThe Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture was founded in 2001. Its mission is to help support the survival of Jewish life and culture in the face of unprecedented global threat to the Jewish people, especially in Israel; strengthen Jewish identity and sustain Jewish heritage in the United...