By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Newspaper and magazine writers loved to refer to Jerry Zucker as a “mystery man.”

After all, all of his corporate holdings were privately held, he rarely granted interviews, and he was a self-made billionaire, an achievement many would make reference to but few could

really fathom.

But Zucker, who died on April 14 after a characteristically private battle with brain cancer, never hid who he was; in fact, he laid out the story of his 58 years in a simple anecdote he told about his father, Leon Zucker.

“My father would never reveal his age, but when asked about it he would say, ‘No one should be judged by their years, only by their deeds,’” Zucker said in 2006.

Over the course of his life Zucker, an industrialist whose self-effacing manner belied a high intellect and an extraordinary ability to amass a global empire of companies, never cast a spotlight on his own good deeds.

Many whose lives and missions he touched, remembered a man who quietly had a profound effect on the Lowcountry.

Jerry Zucker amassed a personal fortune of more than $2 billion and is believed to have given away hundreds of millions to support of causes and institutions he believed in.

In spite of overseeing a multi-national consortium of manufacturing, technology, retail, and financial services companies, Zucker served on more than 30 community-related organizational boards and lent his financial support to at least 56 more.

His family said through Donna Hartin, his longtime assistant, that they will continue their philanthropic endeavors.

But it was Zucker’s own involvement in their organizations that many said was a void that could not be filled. He was never just a board member in name only. Those left to ponder his legacy universally describe Zucker as engaged and active member of the organizations he joined, someone who devoted his drive and complete attention to the task at hand.

In fact, his presence at a meeting held such potential that Rew A. “Skip” Godow Jr., executive director of the Lowcountry Graduate Center actually coined a term, “the Zucker test,” for the usefulness of a work session.

“What I meant by that was, ‘Would this discussion result in a meaningful, tangible outcome for the community?’” Godow said. “Whether it was brainstorming or a session devoted to a specific project — that was the bar Jerry Zucker set and one I felt we should always strive to meet.”

Raymond S. Greenberg, president of the Medical University of South Carolina, recalled a man who was keenly interested in the translation of research findings from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside.

“As a founding member of our Foundation for Research Development Board, he took great pleasure in helping us identify technologies that had commercial promise and he helped identify financial resources to support some of these inventions,” Greenberg said.  “In Jerry, we had free access to one of the world’s leaders in the technology arena.”

Zucker provided generous support to Trident Technical College — his and family members’ names appear on both the Main Campus library and the Complex for Economic Development.

Zucker was an ardent supporter of the Lowcountry Graduate Center, a public higher education consortium in North Charleston. As a member of its advisory council, Zucker pushed the center to consider its role in economic development.

“Virtually everyone was focused on how the Lowcountry Graduate Center could meet the current needs of the community and support the talent that is here,” Godow said. “But Jerry was ahead of everyone else. He wanted us to seek opportunities where we could build graduate programs that would bring new talent here. He saw that the talent would bring jobs,

rather than the other way around.”

The arrival of Global Aeronautica saw  part of that vision become a reality.

The Citadel also benefited from Zucker’s belief that higher learning would be the foundation of a future work force when he provided resources to purchase and upgrade science and lab equipment.

Zucker’s leadership and guidance helped Charleston build and operate the South Carolina Aquarium. He added his experience and expertise to many other philanthropic and community-oriented organizations, including the Trident United Way and the Charleston Museum.

“He gave tremendously of his time, talent and treasure,” said Kevin Mills, South Carolina Aquarium president and CEO.

The Boy Scouts was a lifelong passion of Zucker. Not only had he been a scout himself, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, he was a major supporter of the Boy Scouts’ Coastal Carolina Council.

“Jerry put the same passion that many know from his business ventures into his volunteer efforts in Scouting,” said Patrick T. Craven, Scout Executive with the Coastal Carolina Council, BSA.

In February, Zucker completed a two-year term as volunteer president of the Coastal Carolina Council, which serves boys in nine counties and has more than 11,000 local members.

“Jerry was instrumental in a number of efforts that strengthened our organization,” Craven said. “One was the development of a long range strategic plan to help guide the council over the next five years, another was balancing our $1.4 million budget each year.”

Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@scbiznews.com.

For Jerry Zucker, amassing a fortune of more than a billion dollars was more about giving than having. The many ways he touched his world are detailed below.

Business life

• Founder, chairman, president and CEO of the InterTech Group and its affiliated companies, including retail, financial services and real estate companies throughout North America.
• Owner of Threshold Financial/Electronics and Versent.
• Held investments in numerous U.S.-based banking and financial institutions.
• Led his companies through more than $2 billion in merger, acquisition and IPO transactions.
• Owner of Hudson’s Bay Co., Canada’s largest department store chain.
• InterTech listed as Forbes magazine’s 38th-largest private company in the U.S.
• InterTech listed as second-largest private company in the state by the South Carolina 100.
• Held more than 350 patents for commercially successful processes and products worldwide.
• A member of the American Chemical Society, the American Management Association, the Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary Society (business honor society), and The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Boards (Business related)

• Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.
• Palmetto Partners for Science and Technology.
• Charleston Regional Development Alliance.
• American Management Association.
• American Chemical Society.
• The Regional CEO Council.

Boards (Health related)

• Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for Research and Development.
• Roper Hospital Board (four years).
• Cystic Fibrosis Regional Advisory Committee.
• Organization for Rehabilitation through Training.
• MUSC Children’s Hospital (past board member).

Boards (Education related)

• The Lowcountry Graduate Center.
• Ashley Hall School (past board member).
• College of Charleston Jewish Studies Advisory Board.
• Garrett Academy of Technology.Electronics Technology Advisory Board.
• University of South Carolina Research Institute Board.
• Trident Technical College Electronics Engineering Technology Board.
• The Citadel Tau Beta Pi-Engineering Honor Society.
• Business Advisory Council to the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation.

Boards (Community related)

• Hotline of Charleston — A crisis intervention group, now “211” United Way (past president and long time board member).
• American-Israel Chamber of Commerce.
• Hebrew Benevolent Society.
• Hebrew Orphan Society.
• South Carolina Aquarium.
• Boy Scouts of America (President of the Coastal Carolina Council).
• Anti-Defamation League, South Carolina chair.
• Synagogue Emanu-El (past president).
• Charleston Jewish Federation (Past president).
• Trident United Way (past board member).
• American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
• Technology Transition Team for South Carolina.
• Palmetto First board.

Established and funded endowments or scholarships for:

• College of Charleston.
• The Citadel.
• University of South Carolina NanoCenter.
• Trident Technical College.
• Charleston Southern University.
• Ashley Hall School.
• Porter Gaud School.
• Addlestone Hebrew Academy.
• Synagogue Emanu-El.
• Johnson and Wales University.
• Brith Sholom Beth Israel Synagogue.
• Kahol Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue.
• Organization of Rehabilitation through Training.
• Trident United Way.
• Youth Service Charleston.
• Carolina Youth Development Center.
• Neighborhoods Energized to Win.
• Jewish Community Center.
• The Holocaust Memorial (both locally and nationally).
• My Sister’s House.
• Charleston Interfaith Crisis Ministries.
• Jenkins Orphanage.
• Leukemia Society and Lymphoma Society.
• Israel Education Fellowship Fund.
• Hadassah.

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