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Bernard Cornfeld | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1927-08-17)17 August 1927 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Died | 27 February 1995(1995-02-27) (aged 67) London, United Kingdom |
| Other names | Bernie |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, businessman |
Bernard "Bernie"Cornfeld (17 August 1927 – 27 February 1995) was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in USmutual funds, and who was tried and acquitted for mismanagement of theInvestors Overseas Services (IOS).
Bernard Cornfeld was born inIstanbul, in Turkey. His father was aRomanian-Jewish actor; his mother was from a Russian-Jewish family. They moved to the United States when Bernard was four years old; his father died two years later. The youngBrooklyn-raised Cornfeld worked after school each day in fruit stores and as a delivery boy. He had astammer as well as a natural gift for selling and when a schoolfriend's father died, the two of them used theUS$3,000insurance money to purchase and run an age and weight guessing stand at theConey Island funfair. He graduated fromAbraham Lincoln High School andBrooklyn College.[1]
He initially worked as a social worker, but then switched to selling mutual funds for an investment house.
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In 1955, Cornfeld formed his own mutual fund sales company,Investors Overseas Services (IOS), with principal offices inGeneva, Switzerland, although it was incorporated in Panama. Although the executive headquarters were in Geneva, the main operational offices of IOS were inFerney-Voltaire, France, across the French border from Geneva. During this period,Diane von Furstenberg worked for Cornfeld as a receptionist.
Cornfeld decided that mutual funds should take their fees from the profits they made for their investors, not just a percentage of the money invested.
The IOS system collapsed in 1970. Cornfeld was arrested in Switzerland in 1973 and sentenced to 11 months in preventive prison; however, he was ultimately acquitted in 1979. Having kept part of his earnings, he was able to maintain a luxurious (albeit less ostentatious) lifestyle until he died in 1995.
Following his acquittal, Cornfeld settled inBeverly Hills, California, where he ingratiated himself to film industry circles. For a period of time until 1992, he lived in theGrayhall mansion, built in 1909 and at one time leased byDouglas Fairbanks.[2] Cornfeld numbered among his friendsElizabeth Taylor,Michelle Phillips,Warren Beatty,Laurence Harvey,Victor Lownes,Hugh Hefner,Richard Harris,Al Capp,Tony Curtis,Howard Sackler,John Heyman andSimon Reuben.
In 1972, Cornfeld bankrolled the Paradise Ballroom, partnering with New York showmanJerry Brandt. The club, an attempt by Brandt to re-create his New York disco,The Electric Circus in Los Angeles was a failure, and Cornfeld closed the business.[3]
Grayhall mansion doubled as the home of rock star John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) in the 1976 version ofA Star Is Born starringBarbra Streisand. At the age of 60, Cornfeld had an affair with the then 19-year-oldHeidi Fleiss.[4]
By the 1990s, Cornfeld had developed an obsession forhealth foods andvitamins, renouncedred meat and seldom drank alcohol. In his last years he was a chairman of a land development firm inArizona and also owned a real estate company in Los Angeles.
Bernard Cornfeld suffered a stroke and died ofMRSA on 27 February 1995 in London, England.[1] He was tended to by his 17 year old daughter, Jessica.[citation needed]
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