George A. Weiss

George Weiss's father graduated number 1 in his class at the University of Vienna, Austria, where he earned a PhD in chemistry. The family were Jews, living in Vienna shortly before the Nazi invasion. George's mother was born and raised in a Jewish family in Vienna as well and worked as a bookkeeper. On the day when George's maternal grandfather was made to clean the sidewalk with a toothbrush, he and his daughter decided they would leave Austria. Two weeks before Hitler marched into Vienna, they immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. George's father was smuggled out of Vienna by the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) and sent to America. Eventually George's parents reunited and married. George was born in Akron in 1943. Soon thereafter, they moved to Boston, where George's father worked as a research chemist for a soap company.

George describes his father as cerebral and quiet. 'He was a brilliant man, but it was hard to have a relaxed relationship with him,' he says. 'He had a little study in our house, and each day he would call me in to go over that day's math problem in the Boston Globe. That was how we spent time together. He had always wanted to be a doctor, but in Vienna there was a quota for how many Jews could become doctors. Finally, when he was in his 70s, he was told he would be accepted to Harvard Medical School. He had taken so many advanced courses at MIT over the years, they told him he could finish medical school in two years. But by then my mother was ill, so he never completed that dream.'

Tough is the word George uses to describe his mother. 'She was the one who got her father and brother to leave Vienna,' he says. 'On the day they arrived in Cleveland, she took a streetcar downtown. The only English she had was 'want job.' After marrying my father, she worked as an accountant for Boston hospitals.'

By the time George was 11, he too was expected to work and help with the family's expenses. He got a job at a restaurant and worked seven days a week. His mother placed a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders. If she felt they needed a new appliance, for example, George was required to pay for half of it. 'I didn't have the same carefree upbringing as my friends,' says George. 'People say I work hard now, but I think I worked harder when I was a kid. I was actually a member of the AFL-CIO.'

George accepted the pressure placed on him by his parents. He did well in school and never caused trouble. A natural leader, he ran for student council and succeeded. Once he was a council member, they voted amongst themselves for president. George, who wanted the position, was in the running with another boy. 'I voted for the other guy because I thought that was the respectful thing to do,' he says. 'I lost the election by one vote.'

While waiting on a restaurant customer who was a Boston University professor, George was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up. George told him he wanted to go into business. The professor advised him that the best business school was Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania. 'I had no idea it was an Ivy League school,' says George. 'But from then on whenever a counselor asked me where I wanted to apply, I always said the Wharton School of Finance.'

The one benefit George had from working since childhood is that he had saved a lot of money. Throughout all his summers in high school, he worked double shifts, which gave him enough to fund his first two years at Penn, where he was accepted into the Wharton School. 'My parents gave me $100 a year for school,' says George, 'but the rest was up to me. I hitchhiked my way to school, and the only time my parents came to see me was the day I graduated.'

Even though George was able to pay half of his tuition, he still had to take out loans. Money was a constant worry for him. He joined a fraternity, because the house had an all-you-can-eat breakfast for 75 cents a day. 'I loaded up on breakfast,' says George, 'and then I'd skip lunch. At night I waited on tables and ate dinner at the cafeteria. The chef often gave me sandwiches to get me through the weekends. I managed, but my schoolmates didn't have the same worries and responsibilities. The treasurer of the school sort of took me under his wing and gave me some good guidance, which I needed. But overall, my experience at Penn was not typical.'

Shortly before his graduation, George was informed by the dean that he was one of five students being recommended to the Harvard School of Business. 'It was 1965, and my college debt was $6,500, which was a lot of money in those days,' says George. 'When my parents came to my graduation, my mother informed me that I was now financially responsible for my parents and my sister as well as her husband and child. That, combined with my college debt, kept me from accepting the Harvard offer. Instead, I went to work.'

George had a 12-year career where he specialized in utility stocks and investing on behalf of institutional clients at Bache Halsey Stuart, Inc., in Hartford and briefly at Faulkner, Dawkins and Sullivan, Inc. In 1978, he founded George Weiss Associates. Today the highly successful investment firm, which manages $2.7 billion and is now known as Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, LLC, has an excellent reputation for its integrity, longevity, stability, and leadership. 'I treat my employees like family,' he says, 'and I expect them to do the same. As a result, the average employee at my firm has been here for 20 years, which is unusual for Wall Street. When people talk about my firm, they use words like fair, high integrity, and loyalty. I'm very proud of that.'

George believes that access to post-secondary education can truly change lives, as it did for him. When he was a student at Wharton, he befriended and played ball with low-income neighborhood boys and would invite them to hang out at his fraternity. He later discovered that all the boys had graduated from high school. Inspired to make a bigger impact, in 1987 George created a program called Say Yes to Education, which promised to pay the full costs of college or vocational training for 112 students at one of Philadelphia's most economically disadvantaged elementary schools. Currently, Say Yes to Education scholarships and support services are available to 170,000 students in New York, Ohio, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. 'I had made a pact with God that if I ever had the financial wherewithal to make a difference, I would do it in the form of education,' says George. 'To date, we have financed 13,000 students in college.'

George has earned a Seventh Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a Seventh Degree Black Belt in KiToshaKai and was a member of the U.S. Martial Arts Team. His involvement in this sport taught him the importance of perseverance. 'In martial arts there is something called intestinal fortitude,' says George. 'When warriors are wounded, they can't just take a time out. The same is true in life. You have to persevere through setbacks and challenges. It's the only way to win.'

When asked about the American Dream, George thinks of his parents. 'They were both immigrants from Austria, where for survival they saw spouses turn in spouses to the Nazis, and they saw relatives being taken away. America was their last hope. I believe the American Dream is the freedom to pursue one's dreams, the freedom of religion, and the freedom to embrace your heritage.'

Honored by his Horatio Alger Award, George says, 'Becoming a Member is the culmination of my life's work. I've spent 33 years trying to help inner-city kids succeed. This award recognizes that effort, and I'm hoping the Association will help me to expand that effort. Horatio Alger Members have a genuine passion to make a difference in the lives of young people. That is something I have tried to do with my Say Yes to Education program, so I am very honored to join and actively participate with the Association.'

George adds, 'The Members are paying it forward by sponsoring scholarships. I believe we all have to pay it forward'even the Scholars. That doesn't mean they have to give a lot of money. It means they should help a sibling, help a neighbor, mentor someone who needs guidance, and make a difference in someone's life.'