Robert Mosbacher
Encyclopedia
Robert Adam Mosbacher, Sr. (March 11, 1927 – January 24, 2010), was an American
businessman, accomplished yacht racer
, and a Republican
politician
. In sailing, Sports Illustrated
called him "the unquestioned master of fleet racing." In business in 1954, he found a million-dollar field of natural gas
in South Texas
. Since then, Mosbacher Energy Company has been very successful.
His accumulated wealth and political connections placed the Mosbacher family among Houston's wealthiest families. He resided and his family continues to live in the affluent River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, Texas
. He was U.S. Secretary of Commerce
from 1989 to 1992, during the administration of his friend, U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush.
, New York
, the son of Gertrude (née Schwartz) and Emil Mosbacher. His grandparents were German Jewish immigrants. Mosbacher's father was a wealthy stock trader who divested himself of most of his holdings before the Wall Street Crash of 1929
, so that the Mosbacher family did not suffer great financial hardship during the Great Depression
. Mosbacher graduated from The Choate School
(now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford
, Connecticut
, and in 1947 from Washington & Lee University in Lexington
, Virginia
, with a degree in business administration. After graduation, he went to Texas where his father had some oil investments and entered the oil business himself. He met and befriended future president George H.W. Bush in Texas.
, Mosbacher led the team that won the Scoville Cup and the Midget Yacht championship for under-15 racers in 1940 on Long Island Sound
. He went on to win the Southern Ocean Racing Conference championship in 1958 and the Mallory Cup, also in 1958. He later appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
, on May 18, 1959, with his brother Bus Mosbacher, for a feature article titled Kings of the Class-Boat Sailors. The article called Bob Mosbacher "the unquestioned master of fleet racing".
He won the Silver Medal in World Championships Dragon class in 1967 in Toronto.
In 1969, he won the Gold Medal in World Championships Dragon class at Palma de Mallorca by one point. As of 2010, he is still only one of two Americans to have ever won the World Championships in the Dragon class.
He won the Gold Medal in World Championships Soling class in 1971 in Oyster Bay, NY on a boat named "Adlez" built by Abbott with rigging from Melges
. Mosbacher beat a 53 boat fleet which included 15 Olympic Gold Medal winners amongst its ranks. Mosbacher was the only one to finish in the top ten in all five races. He went 5-4-2-10-7 in the five races for the title. (This was the year that third place finisher, Paul Bert Elvstrøm
, started the trend of dropping the crew over the side in what is called drop hiking
.)
He lost to Buddy Melges
in the 1972 Olympic Trials (Soling class) in San Francisco Bay. Buddy Melges
went on to win the Gold Medal in the Soling Class
at the 1972 Summer Olympics
in Germany.
He won the Bronze Medal in World Championships 5.5 metre class in 1985 at Newport Beach
He won the Scandinavian Gold Cup
for 5.5 metre yachts in 1988.
He was described in Stuart H. Walker's book Advanced Racing Tactics as a keenly competitive racer "unwilling to settle for second."
Mosbacher participated in a semi-final match race against Ted Turner
in the Mallory Cup in 1960. On the final windward leg, Mosbacher was slightly ahead. Ted Turner
attempted to force Mosbacher into a mistake by executing a grueling tacking duel. The windward leg involved an incredible fifty-two tacks. In the end, Mosbacher won by five seconds.
Mosbacher was the finance chairman of Gerald R. Ford's failed election bid in 1976. He also lost his own race for delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention
in Kansas City
, Missouri
, to a slate backing future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, Ford's rival for the party nomination. Mosbacher, running in the then 7th congressional district, lost to State Senator Walter Mengden
of Houston, 39,276 to 26,344 votes.
Earlier, Mosbacher headed the fund-raising effort for George H.W. Bush in his losing Senate campaign against Lloyd M. Bentsen in 1970 and again in Bush's campaigns for President in 1980 and 1988.
As U.S. Secretary of Commerce
, he was the principal Cabinet official responsible for initiating the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). He was a strong proponent of the agreement, which created the largest unified market in the world. The agreement was not signed into law in the U.S. until December 8, 1993, during the administration of President Bill Clinton
. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.
He served as a Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
.
He was also a Member of President Reagan's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives 1981–1983, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
. He then became Secretary of Commerce in 1989 after he directed the George H. W. Bush
1988 Presidential Election Campaign.
In 2008, he was the general chairman of John McCain
's bid for the White House
.
Mosbacher was referenced in the 13th episode of The Simpsons' seventh season, "Two Bad Neighbors
."
. He was former Director of Texas Commerce Bank
and also of New York Life Insurance Company
. He was a former President of the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, as well as a former chairman of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
In 1989, Mosbacher received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston
. He was Trustee Emeritus of the Aspen Institute
for Humanistic Studies. He was President of the Board of Odyssey Academy, a public charter school located in Galveston, Texas
.
, who successfully defended the America's Cup
as skipper of the Weatherly in 1962 and again in 1967 as skipper of the Intrepid
.
Mosbacher was married four times. His first marriage ended in his wife's death from leukemia
in 1970. His second and third (to the former Georgette Paulsin) ended in divorce; his last marriage ended in his death. He had four children with first wife, Jane Pennybacker: Diane "Dee" Mosbacher, Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
, Kathryn Mosbacher and Lisa Mosbacher Mears. Born Jewish, Mosbacher converted to Pennybacker's Presbyterian religion.
His son, Robert Mosbacher, Jr., is also a Houston businessman and Republican politician. Mosbacher Jr. was also a political appointee in the George W. Bush Administration. Mosbacher Jr. was the head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency designed to assist economic growth by utilizing the private sector. He lost close races for the U.S. Senate (1984), lieutenant governor
(1990), and mayor of Houston (1997).
at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the age of 82.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, accomplished yacht racer
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
, and a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. In sailing, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
called him "the unquestioned master of fleet racing." In business in 1954, he found a million-dollar field of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
in South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
. Since then, Mosbacher Energy Company has been very successful.
His accumulated wealth and political connections placed the Mosbacher family among Houston's wealthiest families. He resided and his family continues to live in the affluent River Oaks neighborhood of Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He was U.S. Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
from 1989 to 1992, during the administration of his friend, U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush.
Early life
Mosbacher was born in Mount VernonMount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of Gertrude (née Schwartz) and Emil Mosbacher. His grandparents were German Jewish immigrants. Mosbacher's father was a wealthy stock trader who divested himself of most of his holdings before the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, so that the Mosbacher family did not suffer great financial hardship during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Mosbacher graduated from The Choate School
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
(now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford
Wallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 43,026 at the 2000 census.- History :Wallingford was established on October 10, 1667, when the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the "making of a village on the east river" to 38 planters and freemen...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and in 1947 from Washington & Lee University in Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, with a degree in business administration. After graduation, he went to Texas where his father had some oil investments and entered the oil business himself. He met and befriended future president George H.W. Bush in Texas.
Sailing career
Sailing as a member of the Knickerbocker Yacht ClubKnickerbocker Yacht Club
The Knickerbocker Yacht Club is a yacht club in Port Washington, New York.The club was founded in 1874, on the Harlem River at 130th Street in Manhattan, to encourage “Yachting and the cultivation of Naval Science and Seamanship”....
, Mosbacher led the team that won the Scoville Cup and the Midget Yacht championship for under-15 racers in 1940 on Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. He went on to win the Southern Ocean Racing Conference championship in 1958 and the Mallory Cup, also in 1958. He later appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, on May 18, 1959, with his brother Bus Mosbacher, for a feature article titled Kings of the Class-Boat Sailors. The article called Bob Mosbacher "the unquestioned master of fleet racing".
He won the Silver Medal in World Championships Dragon class in 1967 in Toronto.
In 1969, he won the Gold Medal in World Championships Dragon class at Palma de Mallorca by one point. As of 2010, he is still only one of two Americans to have ever won the World Championships in the Dragon class.
He won the Gold Medal in World Championships Soling class in 1971 in Oyster Bay, NY on a boat named "Adlez" built by Abbott with rigging from Melges
Buddy Melges
Harry "Buddy" Melges, Jr., is one of the most successful competitive sailors in history, with dozens of national and international championships in many different classes, including ice-boating as well as conventional sailing...
. Mosbacher beat a 53 boat fleet which included 15 Olympic Gold Medal winners amongst its ranks. Mosbacher was the only one to finish in the top ten in all five races. He went 5-4-2-10-7 in the five races for the title. (This was the year that third place finisher, Paul Bert Elvstrøm
Paul Bert Elvstrøm
Paul Bert Elvstrøm is a yachtsman from Denmark. He has won world championships fifteen times in eight different types of boat, including Snipe, Soling, Star, Flying Dutchman and Finn....
, started the trend of dropping the crew over the side in what is called drop hiking
Hiking (sailing)
thumb|350px|A sailing canoe with crew hiking out on the outrigger, in Ailuk Lagoon, [[Marshall Islands]].In sailing, hiking is the action of moving the crew's body weight as far to windward as possible, in order to decrease the extent the boat heels...
.)
He lost to Buddy Melges
Buddy Melges
Harry "Buddy" Melges, Jr., is one of the most successful competitive sailors in history, with dozens of national and international championships in many different classes, including ice-boating as well as conventional sailing...
in the 1972 Olympic Trials (Soling class) in San Francisco Bay. Buddy Melges
Buddy Melges
Harry "Buddy" Melges, Jr., is one of the most successful competitive sailors in history, with dozens of national and international championships in many different classes, including ice-boating as well as conventional sailing...
went on to win the Gold Medal in the Soling Class
Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program....
at the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Germany.
He won the Bronze Medal in World Championships 5.5 metre class in 1985 at Newport Beach
He won the Scandinavian Gold Cup
Scandinavian Gold Cup
Scandinavian Gold Cup is a sailing race held annually for 5.5 metre yachts. It is a nation race, meaning that each participant nation can send only one boat/team. Despite its name, it has been an international competition almost through its entire history, and participating is not limited to...
for 5.5 metre yachts in 1988.
He was described in Stuart H. Walker's book Advanced Racing Tactics as a keenly competitive racer "unwilling to settle for second."
Mosbacher participated in a semi-final match race against Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
in the Mallory Cup in 1960. On the final windward leg, Mosbacher was slightly ahead. Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
attempted to force Mosbacher into a mistake by executing a grueling tacking duel. The windward leg involved an incredible fifty-two tacks. In the end, Mosbacher won by five seconds.
Political career
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, to a slate backing future U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, Ford's rival for the party nomination. Mosbacher, running in the then 7th congressional district, lost to State Senator Walter Mengden
Walter Mengden
Walter Henry Mengden, Jr. , is an attorney and oilman in Austin and Houston, Texas, who is a Republican former member of both houses of the Texas State Legislature from Harris County.-Early years:...
of Houston, 39,276 to 26,344 votes.
Earlier, Mosbacher headed the fund-raising effort for George H.W. Bush in his losing Senate campaign against Lloyd M. Bentsen in 1970 and again in Bush's campaigns for President in 1980 and 1988.
As U.S. Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
, he was the principal Cabinet official responsible for initiating the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA). He was a strong proponent of the agreement, which created the largest unified market in the world. The agreement was not signed into law in the U.S. until December 8, 1993, during the administration of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.
He served as a Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
.
He was also a Member of President Reagan's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives 1981–1983, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
. He then became Secretary of Commerce in 1989 after he directed the George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
1988 Presidential Election Campaign.
In 2008, he was the general chairman of John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
's bid for the White House
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
.
Mosbacher was referenced in the 13th episode of The Simpsons' seventh season, "Two Bad Neighbors
Two Bad Neighbors
"Two Bad Neighbors" is the 13th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1996. In the episode,the Simpson family is having a garage sale. Right when the sale gets moving, George H. W...
."
Business interests
Robert Mosbacher was a charter member and past Chairman of the All American Wildcatters Association. He served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Petroleum InstituteAmerican Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...
. He was former Director of Texas Commerce Bank
Texas Commerce Bank
The Texas Commerce Bank was a Texas-based bank acquired by Chemical Banking Corporation of New York in May 1987...
and also of New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company
The New York Life Insurance Company is one of the largest mutual life-insurance companies in the United States, and one of the largest life insurers in the world, with about $287 billion in total assets under management, and more than $15 billion in surplus and AVR...
. He was a former President of the American Association of Petroleum Landmen, as well as a former chairman of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
In 1989, Mosbacher received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. He was Trustee Emeritus of the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
for Humanistic Studies. He was President of the Board of Odyssey Academy, a public charter school located in Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
.
Family and personal life
Mosbacher's brother was Emil "Bus" Mosbacher, Jr.Emil Mosbacher
Emil "Bus" Mosbacher, Jr. was a two-time America's Cup-winning yachtsman, the founding chairman of Operation Sail, and Chief of Protocol of the United States during the administration of President Richard Nixon.He was the brother of Robert Mosbacher Sr., also a champion yachstman, and U.S...
, who successfully defended the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
as skipper of the Weatherly in 1962 and again in 1967 as skipper of the Intrepid
Intrepid (yacht)
The Intrepid is a 12-metre class yacht which won the America's Cup in 1967 and again in 1970.-Design:Intrepid was designed by Olin Stephens, and was built of double-planked mahogany on white oak frames. She featured important innovations both above and below the waterline. The rudder was separated...
.
Mosbacher was married four times. His first marriage ended in his wife's death from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in 1970. His second and third (to the former Georgette Paulsin) ended in divorce; his last marriage ended in his death. He had four children with first wife, Jane Pennybacker: Diane "Dee" Mosbacher, Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Adam Mosbacher, Jr. is a Houston businessman and is the former head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation , a US government agency aimed at promoting development by working with the private sector. Nominated by President George W. Bush, Mr...
, Kathryn Mosbacher and Lisa Mosbacher Mears. Born Jewish, Mosbacher converted to Pennybacker's Presbyterian religion.
His son, Robert Mosbacher, Jr., is also a Houston businessman and Republican politician. Mosbacher Jr. was also a political appointee in the George W. Bush Administration. Mosbacher Jr. was the head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency designed to assist economic growth by utilizing the private sector. He lost close races for the U.S. Senate (1984), lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the...
(1990), and mayor of Houston (1997).
Death
On January 24, 2010, Mosbacher died of pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the age of 82.