Moses Annenberg

Moses "Moe" Louis Annenberg (February 11, 1877 – July 20, 1942) was an American newspaper publisher, who purchased The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States[1] in 1936. The Inquirer has the sixteenth-largest average weekday U.S. newspaper circulation, and has won eighteen Pulitzer Prizes.[2]

Moses Annenberg
BornFebruary 11, 1877
East Prussia (German Empire)
DiedJuly 20, 1942(1942-07-20) (aged 65)
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Sadie Freedman
Children8, including Janet, Enid, and Walter
RelativesWallis Annenberg (granddaughter)

Early life

Moses Annenberg was born in East Prussia (German Empire) in 1877 to a Lithuanian Jewish family. He left Germany and immigrated to Chicago in 1900.[3]

Career

Annenberg began his career as a Chicago newspaper salesman at the Chicago Tribune, then, for the Hearst Corporation. He eventually built a fortune and the successful publishing company that became Triangle Publications, Inc., owning, among other publications, the Daily Racing Form.

During the Roosevelt administration, he was indicted for tax evasion on August 11, 1939, for income tax evasion for the years 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1936 totaling $3,258,809.97 in income taxes evaded.[4] On April 4, 1940, Annenberg pleaded guilty to the 1936 income tax evasion count in the indictment that charged him with evading $1.2 million in taxes ($22.4 million today).[5] Judge James Herbert Wilkerson, the same judge who previously sentenced Al Capone, sentenced Annenberg to three years in prison and a fine of $8.0 million ($146 million today) "the largest single tax fraud penalty in history" at the time.[5]

Personal life, death and legacy

Annenberg married Sadie Cecillia Freedman (1879–1965). They had one son, the publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg and seven daughters;[6] Diana Annenberg (1900–1905), Esther "Aye" Annenberg Simon Levee (1901–1992), Janet Annenberg Hooker (1904–1997),[7] Enid Annenberg Haupt (1906–2005),[8] Lita Annenberg Hazen (1909–1985),[9] Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall (1911–2005),[10] and Harriet Beatrice Annenberg Ames Aronson (1914–1976).

Annenberg was released from Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary prison June 3, 1942.[11] Annenberg died in the Mayo Clinic July 20, 1942 after having surgery for a brain tumor.[12] His Ranch A in eastern Wyoming is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References
  1. Wilkinson, Gerry. "The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer". Philadelphia Press Association. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
  2. "Top 100 Newspapers US Daily Newspapers" (PDF). Audit Bureau of Circulations. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Irey, Elmer L. (1948). Slocum, William J. (ed.). The Tax Dodgers. New York: Greenberg. ASIN B002DIUAAW.
  5. Folsom, Robert G (2010). The Money Trail: how Elmer Irey and his T-Men brought down America's criminal elite. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1597974882.
  6. "Descendants of Israel Annenberg". David Annenberg and Carole Freeman Family History and Genealogy Website.
  7. Enid Nemy (December 16, 1997). "Janet A. Hooker, Philanthropist, Dies at 93". The New York Times.
  8. Christopher Reed (November 1, 2005). "Enid A Haupt Philanthropist keen on gardens and youth". The Guardian.
  9. Enid Nemy (October 3, 1995). "Lita Hazen, Patron of Sciences, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
  10. Wolfgang Saxon (May 1, 2005). "Evelyn A. Hall, 93, Arts Patron, Dies". The New York Times.
  11. [Moses Annenberg Released from Prison, The Journal Times, Racine, Wisconsin, June 3, 1942 https://www.newspapers.com/image/334154530/?terms=moses%2Bannenberg]
  12. [Moses Annenberg, Immigrant Boy Who Made Fortune, Dies, The Daily Courier, Connellsville Pennsylvania, July 21, 1942 https://www.newspapers.com/image/38657274/?terms=moses%2Bannenberg]

Further reading
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