Steven Posner Explained

Birth Name:Steven Neil Posner
Birth Date:January 11, 1943
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland
Death Place:Biscayne Bay, Florida
Nationality:American
Occupation:Businessman
Spouse:Susan Goldman
Children:Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber
Sean Posner
Jarrett Posner
Father:Victor Posner
Relatives:Tracy Posner
(paternal half-sister)

Steven Neil Posner (pronounced POZ-ner; January 11, 1943  - November 29, 2010) was an American corporate raider who worked together on a number of major hostile takeovers with his father, Victor Posner, though the two would later have a falling out that resulted in a series of acrimonious lawsuits. A 1989 corporate takeover staged by the Posners led to fraud convictions for Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken levied by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for their role in improperly assisting the Posners in the attempted deal.

Biography

Posner was born on January 11, 1943, in Baltimore and joined his father's business acquiring and managing corporations. In 1988, the SEC charged that the Posners had colluded with Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken to conceal their stock purchases during the 1984 Posner-led takeover of the Fischbach Corporation. While Boesky and Milken agreed to plead guilty to felony counts in relation to their activities in the Fischbach case, the Posners were required to relinquish the financial gains they had made in the deal and to relinquish ownership stakes they held in other companies.[1]

Posner sued his father in 1995, claiming that the senior Posner had overpaid himself while operating a firm in which his son had an ownership stake.[2] The settlement amount was determined based on the result of a gold coin flipped in front of the judge.[3] After his father's death in 2002, Steven took over the real estate investments that his father had controlled.[1]

Personal life

In 1966, he married Susan Goldman; they had three children: Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber (married to David Gerstenhaber, son of Murray Gerstenhaber); Sean Posner; and Jarrett Posner[4] (married to Elana Waksal, daughter of Samuel D. Waksal).[5] A resident of Miami, Posner died at the age of 67 on November 29, 2010, as a result of an accident in which his boat collided with another boat, killing him and another passenger and leaving a third passenger of the boat severely injured. The crash was described as the result of a mechanical failure in one of the boats as they were traveling next to each other in Biscayne Bay.[6] He was survived by his wife, as well as by a daughter, two sons and five grandchildren.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Hevesi, Dennis. "Steven Posner, 67, Former Corporate Raider, Dies", The New York Times, November 30, 2010. Accessed December 1, 2010.
  2. News: Hevesi . Dennis . 2010-12-01 . Steven Posner, 67, Former Corporate Raider, Dies . 2024-05-28 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  3. via Associated Press. "Steven Posner, real estate tycoon, dies at 67", Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2010. Accessed December 6, 2010.
  4. Web site: Hevesi . Dennis . Steven Posner, 67, Former Corporate Raider . New York Times. December 2, 2010 . March 15, 2018.
  5. Web site: Kranes . Marsha . Something in the Heir – Scandals Link Power Pair. New York Post. June 13, 2002. March 15, 2018.
  6. Litz, Steve. "Mechanical Failure, Not Racing, Led to Boat Crash: ExpertBoth vessels were capable of speeds of about 100 mph", NBC Miami, November 30, 2010. Accessed December 1, 2010.