A History Of The Jews In America, Howard M. Sachar, 1993

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From A History Of The Jews In America, Howard M. Sachar, 1993, pp. 336- 337.

Like Macy's, Sears Roebuck was not founded by Jews ... Richard Sears sold a $75,000 half-interest in his company to Aaron Nusbaum -- of ice-cream concession fame at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition  -- to hedge his investment, Nusbaum in turn sold half his interest to a brother-in-law, Julius Rosenwald ... the son of a Westphalian immigrant who had graduated from peddler to clothing-store proprietor ... 

... when Richard Sears retired in 1908, Rosenwald, as company chairman, moved vigorously to open scores of retail outlets .. propelled Sears into first place among the nation's mass-merchandising operations .. financial integrity ... the name Sesars Roebuck had become perhaps the most respected in American retail business.

From Otto Kahn to Simon Guggenheim to Albert Lasker these financially successful Central European Jews turned almost instinctively to philanthropy as the appropriate expression of their gratitude to the American people.

Yet no Jewish millionaire quite matched the record of Julius Rosenwald, either in munificence or sheer breadth of social compassion.

Deeply moved by Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up from Slavery, Rosenwald determined to contribute a major portion of his resources to black education.

In accordance with his "seed-corn" approach, he offered to donate half the cost of a new school for blacks to any southern community whose citizens would raise the other half. The inducement worked. Private citizens and 83 county governments in 15 southern states ultimately shared with Rosenwald the costs of constructing 5,347 black schools and colleges. 

Other projects of Rosenwald's included research and experimental medical programs for middle-class patients.

Form the clinics he established at the University of Chicago emerged the Blue Cross health-insurance program. 

Interspersed withRosenwald's social-welfare undrtakings were occasional bloc gifts to the city of Chicago, the Universitiy of Chicago, the Chicago Hebrew Institute, the Zionist agricultural experiment station in Athlit, Palestine, and fully $3.6 million contributed to the Joint Distribution Committee, including the JDC's Agro-Joint program in the Soviet Union. 

Not least of all, at Rosenwald's instructions, the entirety of this $70-mlllion charity foundation was expended within twenty-five years of his death. It was twic the amount he had left his own family.