Louis Wolfson
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Louis Elwood Wolfson (January 28, 1912 -) was a Wall Street financier. He built one of the first conglomerates, before being convicted of securities fraud. His legal troubles led to the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas.
He grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was a top athlete. As a youngster, he boxed professionally under the name "Kid Wolf", earning from $25 to $100 per fight. He was a high school football star. He went to the University of Georgia, where he played football. He demanded, and was paid, $100 a month to play there. He left the university after two years, never graduating from college.
After dropping out of college, he raised $10,000. Half came from a wealthy Georgia football fan, Harold Hirsch, and half from his family. He started a company, Florida Pipe and Supply Company, to trade in building materials. Within a few years, he built this into a hefty business.
He went on to become chairman of Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation. It started as a construction firm, but expanded into ship building, chemicals, and money lending. Wolfson became nationally known when, in 1955, he unsuccessfully attempted a hostile takeover of Montgomery Ward and Co.
In 1967 and 1968 he was convicted by two different federal juries on charges stemming from stock sales. The first conviction arose when Wolfson sold unregistered shares in Continental Enterprises, Inc. to the public. Continental Enterprises was an unlisted company that he controlled. He never denied the charges, but argued that the law was misapplied in his case. The second conviction was for charges of perjury and obstruction of justice during a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Merritt-Chapman. He served one year in a federal prison at Elgin Air Force Base and paid a substantial fine.
Wolfson started a charitable foundation. The foundation paid Supreme Court Justice, and Wolfson friend, Abe Fortas $20,000. Wolfson had appealed his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court had refused to review his conviction, and Fortas did not participate in that decision, it was viewed as an attempt to buy his way out of a conviction. Controversy surrounded Fortas and he eventually resigned from the court.
In the late 1960's Louis Wolfson lived at 6466 North Bay Road, Miami Beach, Florida. He owned a thoroughbread horse farm in Ocala, Florida, and was a part owner of the Triple Crown winner Affirmed.
References
- Stanley Penn, The Wall Street Journal, Wolfson's World; Industrialist, Facing a Year in Jail Friday, Turns Cold Shoulder Toward Wall Street, Apr 22, 1969. p. 40
- The Wall Street Journal W vs. W; The Wolfson Story Begins a New Chapter; Climax or Anticlimax? The Floridian's Adversary Is The SEC's Youthful and Ambitious Mr. Windels Settlement Before Tuesday? Aug 1, 1958. p. 1