Jordan Zimmerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jordan Zimmerman 1955or1956(age 69–70) [1] Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | B.A. and M.B.A. University of South Florida |
| Occupation | Advertising executive |
| Known for | Founder of Zimmerman Advertising |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4 |
Jordan Zimmerman (born 1956 in Newark, New Jersey) is an advertising business mogul and philanthropist [2] [3] who founded the $4.0 billion Zimmerman Advertising firm. He is also a real estate mogul with over 150 mobile home parks and over 47,000 pads. His real estate holdings and personal assets have been independently appraised for well over $3.0 billion. [4] [5] [6]
Zimmerman was born in Newark, New Jersey, the oldest of four siblings in a middle-class family. [6] His father worked in a family business called Castle Products that manufactured cherries, syrups, toppings, and colas, eventually sold the business, and moved the family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, [1] from Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, after Zimmerman graduated from Madison Township High School in 1975. [7]
During his senior year in college, his college entered a national college competition to develop an advertising campaign for the National Institute on Drug Abuse; his team's "Just Say No" slogan won the competition and which was adopted by Nancy Reagan in her national campaign against drug use. [8]
In 1978, he graduated with a B.A. in advertising from the University of South Florida and after he was unable to get an advertising job in New York City, returned to USF where he received his MBA in 1980. [9] [10] After school, he returned to live with his parents in Sunrise, Florida [11] and started his own agency. [1] In 1984, he founded Zimmerman Advertising. [12]
Zimmerman is a former owner of the Florida Panthers hockey club; he sold his interests to Vincent Viola and Douglas Cifu for $250 million in 2014. [13]
With the Florida Governors appointment, Jordan Zimmerman served on the board of trustees at the University of South Florida, eventually becoming the chairman of the board, where he served for over 12 years. In 2015, he donated $10,000,000 to his alma mater, the University of South Florida where the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications is named after him; and where he spearheaded a revamp of the university's Advertising program. [2]
In 2015, he was named to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. While most other scholarships focus exclusively on academic achievement or leadership potential, Horatio Alger Scholarships are also intended for promising students who have critical financial need, demonstrate integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity, and are determined to succeed. [8]
Zimmerman is a registered Republican. In 2006 he hosted, in his Boca Raton estate, the sitting President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, for a small gathering of 25 couples, and in one night he raised $1,250,000. [14]
"My work is my hobby, so I only allow myself four hours of sleep a night because we have a reputation for producing for our clients," says Zimmerman, 54.