Name Ivan Obolensky | ||
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Spouse(s) Claire Elizabeth McGinnis(m. 1949—1956; divorced)Mary Elizabeth Morris(m. 1959—2006; her death) Children Marina Ivanovna Knyaginya ObolenskyIvan Ivanovich Knyaz ObolenskyDavid Ivanovich Knyaz ObolenskySergei Ivanovich Knyaz Obolensky Relatives John Jacob Astor IV (grandfather)Ava Lowle Willing (grandmother)William Vincent Astor (uncle)John Jacob Astor VI (half-uncle) Parents Ava Alice Muriel Astor, Serge Obolensky Grandparents John Jacob Astor IV, Ava Lowle Willing, Platon Sergeyevich Obolensky, Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina Great-grandparents Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor Similar People Serge Obolensky, Ava Alice Muriel Astor, Ava Lowle Willing, John Jacob Astor IV, Alexander II of Russia | ||
Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky (born 15 May 1925) is an American New York City-based financial analyst and corporate officer. He was previously commissioned in the United States Navy, serving as a Flight Lieutenant, and has also been a publisher.
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Early life
Obolensky was born in London, Middlesex, on 15 May 1925, to Sergei Platonovich "Serge" Obolensky and Ava Alice Muriel Astor. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor and the elder grandson of John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the RMS Titanic.
Ivan was educated at St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1947. While at Yale, he was a member of St. Elmo, a senior secret society.
Career
After Yale, Obolensky became a writer working for Telavid Inc. Imports, and went on to serve with the United States Navy as a pilot. In 1957, he formed a publishing firm McDowell, Obolensky Inc. with a partner, David McDowell. The firm published James Agee's Pulitzer Prize novel, A Death in the Family (1957), and was the U.S. publisher for Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1959). It was dissolved in 1960. Obolensky then formed a second publishing house, Ivan Obolensky, Inc. This firm continued through 1965, when he joined the investment banking firm of A. T. Brod & Company as a partner.
Throughout his main career on Wall Street as a financial analyst, Obolensky has covered many prestigious accounts. He was Vice President of Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden Inc., Stock brokers and is currently Vice President of Shields & Company. Obolensky is an active member of the philanthropic community in New York. He has, for many years, been an active supporter of the Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club, and New York's International Debutante Ball, which benefits the club. He is also Treasurer of the Russian Nobility Association in America, Inc., and the US Prior of the Orthodox Order of St. John.
Marriages and children
Obolensky first married in New York City on 10 October 1949 to Claire Elizabeth McGinnis (born in San Francisco, California, on 7 March 1929). The marriage ended in divorce in 1956. She was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, California, United States, the Finch Junior College in Manhattan, New York City, and at Miss Burke's School in San Francisco. Claire was the daughter of Felix Signoret McGinnis (25 January 1883 – 17 March 1945), Vice-President of the Southern Pacific Company and Director of the Los Angeles Turf Club, Inc., and wife (m. June 1917) Clara Leonhardt (14 April 1887 – 25 January 1984). Claire later married secondly Garrick C. Stephenson (1927 – 3 February 2007), without issue.
On 22 October 1959, he married Mary Elizabeth Morris (16 January 1934 – 21 August 2006).
Ivan has one daughter and two sons by his first marriage, and one son by his second marriage: