How Playboy Magazine Inspired A Real Estate Billionaire

Last week on Methods of Prosperity

In 1937, anti-Semitism intensified. It culminated in the Kristallnacht pogroms in November 1938. Nazis targeted Jewish businesses and synagogues. Sam Zell’s father became aware of the growing danger for Jews in Poland. He took significant risks to secure his family's future. He transferred money to a bank in Tel Aviv. This would ensure a financial foothold outside of Poland. His wife sewed jewelry into their clothing. They relied on coded communication to navigate these challenges. In 1939, Sam’s father learned about the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. Germany would soon invade Poland. He immediately made plans for his family's escape. Their relatives refused to leave. Sam’s father made sure his wife and Sam’s sister were safe (Sam hadn’t been born yet). As the Germans invaded, Sam’s father caught the last train out before the Nazis bombed the tracks. The family made their way through Poland to Lithuania. Sam’s father continued to trade grain. Sam’s mother wanted to settle there. Sam’s father insisted on leaving Europe. Their ultimate destination would either be Palestine or the US. In July 1940, they sought travel visas from the Japanese consulate in Lithuania. Chiune Sugihara was their last hope for a safe passage through Japan. 

Part 74. Sam Zell (continued).

You can find this week’s TL;DR here.

Key Lessons:

• Acknowledge that you’re fortunate to live in the U.S.A.

• If you get a chance to save a life, you better take it.

• Recognize an arbitrage opportunity.

• Put yourself where the action is.

• Scarcity is a two-edged sword.

• Leave when others say stay.

• Expect a change of plans.

• Be kind to strangers.

• Life is harsh.

Now there’s a collectible version of this newsletter! Methods of Prosperity newsletter number 37 is available to collect as of November 8, 2024. If you’re so inclined you can permanently own it!

A Japanese man who disobeyed orders saved Sam’s parents’ lives. Chiune Sugihara never had a chance to save people before. “And then I did,” Sugihara told Sam’s sister, Julie. It was before Sugihara died. Julie went to visit him in Japan. She asked him why he took the risk, giving up his status in the Japanese government. “I had to do it,” answered. It was his legacy – his way to make a difference.

Sam’s parents and sister took refuge in Japan for four months. They were the second group of thousands of Jewish refugees to reach Japan during the war. They had traveled through the U.S.S.R. in the winter on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Through every one of the 56 hundred miles, they were in danger. Nazis sent Jews to camps in Siberia for any infraction, real or not.

After 21 months, through four countries, and thousands of miles they arrived. On May 18, 1941, Sam’s parents and sister arrived in Seattle. His mother was pregnant with him at the time. They had spent every cent they had, except for about $600. Which they had sent ahead to the Manufacturers Trust Family Bank in New York. The evening after they landed, Sam’s parents took their first English class. Eager to improve their language skills, and become Americans, they began the process. Sam’s father’s great uncle in New York offered him a job. Sam’s father declined the offer. Instead, he chose Chicago as his family’s place to settle. It was the center of the country’s grain business. He expected to pick up his profession as a grain merchant.

They settled in a Jewish neighborhood of Chicago, on the west side. That’s where Sam Zell was born on September 28, 1941. The Nazis murdered his mother’s brother-in-law, whose name was Samuel Moses. Sam’s parents gave their son his name. The Nazis murdered most of their family. This made an imprint on the worldview of Sam’s parents. Live was harsh. Death was looming. Money was scarce.

Sam’s parents worked hard, pushing their children to succeed. Economic success had been critical in securing their freedom. They escaped Poland due to having the means to do so. His father had been strategic with his finances.

Sam’s parents celebrated the anniversary of their arrival in America every year. They were grateful and taught their children, Sam and his two sisters to be grateful. Sam was aware how fortunate he was to live in the U.S.A., where opportunity isn’t defined by race or religion. Everyone with ambition and drive can achieve what they want. There are no limits.

Sam’s father was ambitious. He was a natural entrepreneur. He struggled to recreate the successful career he once had as a grain merchant in Poland. Quaker Oats had been one of his biggest customers back home. His contact there encouraged him to work for Quaker Oats. That was his first stop when looking for a job in Chicago. The company turned him away because he didn’t have a college degree.

Within two years of moving to Chicago, Sam’s father gave up on the grain business. He started his own jewelry business instead. His great uncle helped him buy a surplus of jewelry which he resold around the midwest. He worked six days a week, thirteen hours a day. His business took him to eleven states. He gained respect. He gained access to major retailers. They responded to his confidence and work ethic. He feared that at any moment, disaster could come and grab him by the throat in the middle of the night. He possessed a refugee’s awareness. It was a combination of optimism and terror.

Sam’s parents sponsored and hosted a steady stream of Polish Jewish refugees in their home when he was a child. For several years, Sam had to share his bedroom with men who stayed with them. It wasn’t odd at all at the time. Today, it would be strange to witness a child giving up half of his room to a stranger. But then, it was normal for his parents to help others. They raised their children with integrity, religion, and the quality of being a mensch. Education, honor, and achievement were their values.

Sam was their first child born in the United States. His younger sister Leah was born in 1949. Their frame of reference was different from their parents. Traditional values were important. Sam’s parents raised him and his sisters to be righteous Jews. His parents feared their kids would lose these traditional values. While they loved the U.S.A., they believed it was dangerous. American affluence and freedom threatened their traditional values. They feared that their kids lacked discipline. The world is a hard place. Sam’s father needed him to understand that. His father taught him lessons in Talmudic parables. Telling stories is an effective way to get your point across.

Sam loved Chicago. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to Highland Park. It was an upper-middle class, northern suburb. He missed the energy of the city. He would attend Hebrew school in Chicago, taking the train to the Yeshiva on the north side. He did this on four weekdays and on Sundays. He made friends with Catholic girls on the train. They rode for a half an hour together on the way to the city.

Chicago, 1953. One day, Sam discovered what would become his first foray into being an entrepreneur. Playboy Magazine had made its debut, with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. It sold for 50¢. He bought a copy from the news stand, and showed it to his friends in Highland Park, where it wasn’t for sale. He sold it for $3 to one of his friends. After that, he started a magazine import business. In the process, he learned a valuable lesson. Where there’s scarcity, price is no object. This basic tenet of supply and demand would become his governing principle.

To be continued…

I like you,

– Sean Allen Fenn

Methods of Prosperity newsletter is intended to share ideas and build relationships. To become a billionaire, one must first be conditioned to think like a billionaire. To that agenda, this newsletter studies remarkable people in history who demonstrated what to do (and what not to do). Your feedback is welcome. For more information about the author, please visit seanallenfenn.com/faq.