metro >> on the cover

Jefactor In Chu

Stephen M. Ross' commitment to U-M presents a lesson in giving.

Adam Finkel I Special to the Detroit Jewish News

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Halperin, who lives in Birmingham,
the change was personal. Halperin had
hired Ross out of NYU's tax program
back in the 1960s to work in the Detroit
office of Coopers & Lybrand (now
PricewaterhouseCoopers).
Jerry Halperin and
Stephen Ross, who now
owns the internation-
ally recognized real
estate firm the Related
Companies, have been
friends for nearly five
decades. The Related
Jerry Halperin Companies has developed
$22 billion of real estate
and owns property valued at more than $15
billion with major developments in Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami,
San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, Sao Paulo and
Shanghai. One of its most notable projects is
the Time Warner Center in New York City.
Halperin recounted frequent visits to
New York where they'd meet for dinner
when Ross was just starting his business.
He also recalls attending a dinner in New
York where Ross proudly received an award
from the UJA-Federation of New York.

A Legacy Of Giving
Ross' other honors include the David B.
Hermelin Award at U-M in 2008 and the
Henry Pearce Award from the Jewish
Association of Services for the Aged.
A profile in Lifestyles Magazine stated
that Ross has donated untold millions to the
State of Israel and the United Jewish Appeal.
He created a foundation called Bridging the
Rift to advance scientific, education and
research collaboration between Arab and
Jewish students.
His leadership extends from the Lincoln
Center and the New York-Presbyterian
Hospital to the Guggenheim Foundation
and the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation International. He is also a direc-
tor of the World Resources Institute and the
Jackie Robinson Foundation.
In 1993, the late Joel Weiner of
Bloomfield Hills founded the Related
Retail Corp. with Ross, a childhood
friend. This entity oversaw nine shopping
centers around the East Coast. Weiner
and Ross worked together to create the
Palladium Movie Theatre and the Willits
Condominium Building in downtown
Birmingham.

14 April 17 • 2014

Jh

Phillip Fisher with a photo of his late father, Max Fisher

Stephen M. Ross

Growing Up In Motown
Ross remembers Detroit as a great place to
grow up and traces his current ownership
of the Miami Dolphins to his early interest
in athletics as a kid in the northwest side of
Detroit.
"Michigan is where I grew up:' he said.
"It's where I drew much of my inspira-
tion, and it is where my Uncle Max Fisher
inspired me to give back:'
His family moved to Miami Beach after
his freshman year at Detroit's Mumford
High School. After graduation from U-M,
he earned his law degree from Wayne
State University Law School. To this day,
he returns four to five times a year to
Michigan, where he still has family, includ-
ing his sister. Ross and his wife, Kara, an
entrepreneur and jewelry designer, reside in
New York with their four daughters.
Growing up, his family belonged to
Temple Israel, originally in Detroit. He grew
up as a proud Jew in a city where Jews still
faced discrimination. In one instance, he
was not invited to the birthday of one of his
best non-Jewish friends because the skating
rink had a "no Jews allowed" policy.

The days
he spent at
U-M laid the
foundation for
his career and
made it possible
to build the
type of business
that the Related
Companies has
become, he
U-M President Mary Sue
said. The words Coleman
that exemplify
Michigan to
Ross are "leaders" and "best:'
"Those words resonate in every aspect
of my life. It's how I grew my company—
with those two words in mind:' Ross said.
"Michigan trains the best and the bright-
est, and it's a tradition that I am not only
thrilled to be a part of, but to help con-
tinue:'

Supporting His Alma Mater

"I can't say enough about Steve's leadership
as a philanthropist:' U-M President Mary
Sue Coleman said. "His gifts have trans-

Brian Brodsky

formed the University of Michigan campus
and had a permanent impact on both
academics and athletics. Not only is he the
university's most generous donor, he puts
in a great deal of time and effort as the
chair of our $4 billion Victors for Michigan
campaign. He has really set the standard for
giving bade
Ross said he receives enormous joy and
satisfaction from his gifts to Michigan. He
wants it to be a world-class facility that
leads the way in attracting the world's best
students and faculty.

