PETER PETERSON

Born as Peter George Peterson on June 5th 1926, he is a renowned United States businessman, writer, politician, fiscal conservative, and investment banker who is greatly known for being the US Secretary of Commerce from February 29, 1972 to February 1, 1973, under former US President Richard Nixon.

BACKGROUND

Peter Peterson was born to Greek immigrant parents in Kearney, Nebraska. His father put up and manned a diner in 1923, following the changing of his name from Georgios Petropoulos to George Peterson.

Peterson earned his undergraduate degree as a summa cum laude from Northwestern University in 1947. One year later, he was employed at Market Facts, a market research business in Chicago. By 1951, before going back to the company as its executive vice president, he received his Master’s degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Peter Peterson is currently married to one of the creators of the famous children’s television show Sesame Street, Joan Ganz Cooney, who is also the stepmother of his five kids.

CAREER

From 1963 to 1971 and from 1973 to 1984, he served as the chief executive officer and chairman of Bell & Howell and Lehman Brothers, respectively. Before that, in 1953, he was in Chicago, serving as a director of the McCann Erickson advertising agency.

In 2006, the Smithsonian Institution’s Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars gave Peter Peterson the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. It was also that year when he was chosen as a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Peterson retired from being the chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations on June 30th 2007 and became a founding partner of the private equity business Blackstone Group.

A year later, he was recognized as the 149th richest person in America, after reaching a net worth of $2.8 billion at the Forbes 400. That same year, he formed The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, contributing $1 billion in endowment.

Some of his writings include:

• “Old Habits must change,” on the January 3rd 2005 issue of The Banker.
• “You Can’t Take It with You,” on the April 7th 2008 issue of Newsweek.
• “Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion,” on the May 30th 2009 issue of Newsweek.

Links and Resources for Pete Peterson

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