Herb Kohl (Feb. 7, 1935 – Dec. 27, 2023) was the son of Eastern European immigrants Max Kohl and his wife Mary Hiken. In Milwaukee, he attended Washington High School and in Madison, he earned a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a roommate of Bud Selig, who later became the commissioner of Major League Baseball. Kohl went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School before working as an investor in the real estate and stock markets.
His father had established Kohl’s Food Markets, a grocery store chain. With his father and brother Frederic, Herb Kohl expanded the family’s holdings to include Kohl’s department stores. In 1970, Herb became the organization’s president and CEO, remaining in that position until the company’s sale in 1978 to BATUS Inc. From 1975 to 1977, Kohl also served as chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic party.
Kohl purchased the Milwaukee Bucks for $18 million in 1985, prompted by a desire to keep the basketball team in Milwaukee. He retained ownership for 29 years, selling it for $550 million in 2014.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988, and reelected in 1994, 2000, and 2006. He announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2012, clearing the way for his successor Tammy Baldwin. “I’ve always believed it is better to leave a job a little too early than a little too late,” Kohl said at the time. While a senator, he had a sign at his office, punning on Harry Truman’s famous saying that “the Buck stops here.” Kohl’s version, in a reference to the Milwaukee team he owned, was “The Bucks Stop Here.”
For part of his tenure, Kohl and Russ Feingold served together as Wisconsin’s senators, both men members of the Jewish community. Similarly, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Jewish, served together as California’s two representatives in the U.S. Senate.
Next, February 8: Martin Buber
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SDJW condensation of a Wikipedia article