Nationality United States Net worth 5 billion USD (2015) | Name Dirk Ziff Occupation Investor | |
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Residence North Palm Beach, Florida, US Ethnicity German mother; Jewish father Known for Inheritance, Investments Role William Bernard Ziff, Jr.'s son Grandparents William Bernard Ziff, Sr., Amelia Mary Morton Similar People Daniel M Ziff, Robert D Ziff, William Bernard Ziff - Jr | ||
Parents William Bernard Ziff, Jr. | ||
Dirk Edward Ziff (born 1965) is an American businessman. He is a billionaire and the eldest son of publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff, Jr. He and his two brothers inherited the family fortune in 1994.
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Early life and education
Dirk was born in 1965. His mother was Barbara Ingrid Beitz, an ethnic German whose parents were declared as "Righteous among the Nations" for providing refuge and risking their lives to save Jews during World War II. His father was the Jewish American media magnate William Ziff Jr. (d. 2006), who had built the Ziff-Davis magazine empire that included titles such as Popular Aviation, PC Magazine, and Car and Driver.
In 1981, Dirk graduated from the Trinity School in New York City where his father served as trustee. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
Career
Dirk and his brothers Daniel and Robert inherited the family fortune in 1994 after their father sold 95% of the business to Forstmann Little for $1.4 billion and retired. The father had originally wanted to pass the company on to his sons but they were not interested. Instead, they formed New York City-based Ziff Brothers Investments, investing their inheritances broadly across equities, debt, real estate, commodities, private equity and hedge funds. They also provided seed money to fund manager Daniel Och in exchange for a 10% stake in Och-Ziff Capital Management which went public in 2007.
Personal life
Dirk is married to the former Forbes magazine reporter Natasha Bacigalupo. The couple lives in North Palm Beach, Florida and vacations at their Martha's Vineyard home. They have two children.