Charles W. Engelhard Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1917 |
| Died | March 2, 1971(1971-03-02) (aged 54) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Princeton University Oxford University |
| Occupation(s) | Industrialist, Racehorse owner |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse | Jane Mannheimer (1947–1971; his death) |
| Children | Anne Mannheimer-Engelhard Susan Engelhard O'Connor Jane Elizabeth Sophie Engelhard Craighead Sally Engelhard Charlene Engelhard Troy |
| Parent | Charles W. Engelhard Sr. |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | November 7, 1941 – 1945[2] |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
Charles William Engelhard Jr. (February 15, 1917 – March 2, 1971)[3] was an American businessman, a major owner inThoroughbredhorse racing, and a candidate in the1955 New Jersey State Senate elections. He controlled an internationalmining andmetalsconglomerate,Engelhard, founded by his father.
He has been described as the "Platinum King"[4] and "the world's largest refiner and fabricator of platinum, gold and silver."[5]
Engelhard grew up in a twelve-bedroom mansion inBernardsville, New Jersey called Craigmore.[6] He would say that he never once had a personal conversation with his "veryGermanic" father Charles Engelhard Sr.. He attended boarding schools in South Africa andCharterhouse School in England. In 1931, he graduated fromChrist Church, Oxford University. In 1939, he graduated fromPrinceton University with a degree in history.[7] DuringWorld War II, he served as a bomber pilot with theUnited States Army Air Forces.[8] In 1947, Engelhard married the widowJane Mannheimer. Engelhard would adopt Mannheimer's daughter,Anne France Mannheimer, and eventually have four more daughters with his wife.[9][10]
Engelhard was obese and lived like an "Indian Rajah"[11] According to a board member Robert Zeller, he "would hold meetings...propped up in bed like aSun King." He drank Coca-Cola and ate Hershey's Kisses to such extent that it gave himgout.[4]
Charles Engelhard was a major contributor to theUnited States Democratic Party. In 1953, he was an early supporter ofRobert B. Meyner's winning gubernatorial campaign.[8] In 1955, he ran forNew Jersey State Senate againstMalcolm Forbes in the "Battle of the Billionaires", but lost 19,981 to 19,611.[12] In the1960 presidential election, he led the National Committee of Business and Professional Men and Women forKennedy andJohnson.[13]
Engelhard represented John F. Kennedy at the coronation ofPope Paul VI.[14]
Engelhard's father began purchasing metals firms in 1902 with his wife'sdowry.[6][15] As a young man, Engelhard worked in the business, dealing inplatinum,gold, andsilver. Upon the death of his father in 1950, Charles Engelhard inherited a $20 million interest in theEngelhard Corporation and eventually grew it to over $200 million.[11] He substantially expanded operations toSouth Africa,South America andEurope and built it into the world's leading refiner and fabricartor of precious metals.[5] In 1958, he consolidated the various operating companies and issued apublic share offering on theNew York Stock Exchange.[16] In 1961,Time described him as, "one of the most powerful businessmen inSouth Africa".[13]
As a result of his company's need forgold acquisitions from South African suppliers, Engelhard became a major investor in the country, acquiring gold,copper andcoal mining ventures as well as investing in industrial concerns. He set up a publicly traded holding company in the U.S. that raised capital for investments in South African business. The company made investments alone and in conjunction with South African business tycoonHarry Oppenheimer, whoseAnglo American company dominated the South African mining industry. Engelhard maintained a residence in South Africa and was elected to Anglo American'sBoard of Directors. At home, he was criticized by students atHarvard andRutgers for indirectly supporting the country'sapartheid regime.[17][18][8]
Engelhard Minerals had dealings with the silver empire ofNelson Bunker Hunt andW. Herbert Hunt and Japanese trading companiesMitsui andMitsubishi through its trading armPhillipp Brothers. The company remained very sizable for many years after Engelhard's death.[19]
Shortly before his death in 1971, Engelhard disposed of most of his South African businesses, selling them to Anglo-American companies.[citation needed]
Charles Engelhard supported numeroushumanitarian and benevolent causes in South Africa, theUnited Kingdom, and the United States. The Engelhard Dam on theLetaba River inKruger National Park is named in his honor in gratitude for donations to the South African National Parks Board.[20]
The Charles Engelhard Foundation, headed by his wife after his death and by their children following her death in 2004, provides funding to a wide range of causes including education, medical research, cultural institutions, and wildlife and conservation organizations. It has made major donations to theMetropolitan Museum of Art where the Charles Engelhard Court can be found in its American Wing, built the library atHarvard University'sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government, and has been a generous supporter of a number ofUniversity of Montana academic programs.[21] In 1967, he and his wife donated an elaborate 18th-centuryNeapolitancrêche to theWhite House.
Engelhard developed a love ofThoroughbredhorse racing and became a major force in the industry with racing stables inEngland and South Africa, plus inAiken, South Carolina where his Cragwood Stables was named for his estate inFar Hills, New Jersey.[22] Primarily trained by futureU.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,MacKenzie Miller in the U.S., he raced notable horses such as Red Reality,Assagai,Tentam, Alley Fighter, and theU.S. Champion sire,Halo. His best known South African horse wasHawaii who won a number of important races in that country until being brought to compete in the U.S. in 1969 where he won severalGrade 1 stakes and was voted the 1969Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse. Following his death, his widow donated a large collection of racing trophies that were won by Cragwood horses in the U.S. between 1962 and 1976.[23]
While Engelhard was very successful racing Thoroughbreds in the United States, he and his wife also maintained a residence inLondon and it was in England where he had his greatest achievements in racing. His horses wonBritish Classic Races six times including theSt. Leger Stakes in 1964, 1967, 1968 and again in 1970 when he won it for the fourth time with the horse that brought him international fame and made him that year'sBritish flat racing Champion Owner. Purchased atWindfields Farm's annual yearling sale inOntario, Canada,Nijinsky was sent toIreland to be conditioned byVincent O'Brien. The colt earned Champion Two-Year-Old honors for his undefeated 1969 racing campaign. The next year, en route to being votedEuropean Horse of the Year, Nijinsky won the2,000 Guineas,The Derby, and the St. Leger Stakes to become the first horse in thirty-five years to win theEnglish Triple Crown, and only narrowly failed to win thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe by a short head toSassafras. A 1970motion picture was made about the colt titledA Horse Called Nijinsky and a 2000Sun newspaper poll voted him Britain's Horse of the Millennium.[24]
Engelhard died in 1971 of aheart attack inBoca Grande, Florida.[7] His funeral mass was held on March 5 at St. Mary's Abbey Church at theDelbarton School in Morris County, New Jersey. Former presidentLyndon Johnson acted as an honorary pall-bearer. Also in attendance were US senatorsHubert Humphrey,Ted Kennedy,Mike Mansfield andHarrison A. Williams Jr., and former governorsRobert B. Meyner andRichard J. Hughes.[14]
Engelhard is reported by numerous sources, includingForbes andThe New York Times, to have been the inspiration for the fictional characterAuric Goldfinger in theIan Fleming novelGoldfinger and thesubsequent motion picture.[1][25] Engelhard once attended a party in costume as Goldfinger.[8]
At one time, Engelhard, based in Newark, was the world's largest refiner and fabricator of platinum, gold and silver.
