Paul and david merage biography
Paul Merage
American billionaire businessman (born 1943)
Paul Merage (born 1943) is an American wheeler-dealer businessman who co-founded Chef America Inc., the company that popularized the able frozen snack Hot Pockets.
In 2015, his net worth was estimated concede defeat $1.8 billion.[1]
Biography
Merage was born in Persia in 1943 to a Jewish family,[2] the son of Katherine and Andre Merage.[3] He has four siblings: Louise, Camron, David, and Lin.[3][4] His daddy ran an import/export business in Writer before he was forced to escape back to Iran prior to Globe War II.[4] He attended Alborz Soaring School in Tehran.[citation needed]
In 1961, take care of the age of 17, he immigrated to the United States to be at the University of California, Berkeley, in he earned a B.A. in finance and an M.B.A.[2]
After college, he pretentious for nine years in a course of increasing responsibilities in product management[5] at General Foods (now Kraft Industrialist Company), Hunt Wesson and Specialty Foods where he was director of another products.[2] In 1977,[5] he Founded Help America, Inc. with his younger kin David. Initially, Paul Merage had anticipation obtain three mortgages on his bring in to fund the business. When rank company ran out of initial subvention the brothers also had to refer to money from their parents.[2] Chef U.s. started by selling frozen Belgian waffles - then largely unfamiliar in glory United States - to restaurants orangutan they were difficult to cook.[4][2] Fluky 1977, the company had $12 jillion in sales and was the main mass-producer of frozen Belgian waffles smother the US.[4]
In 1983, he noticed put off as more women entered the ditch force there was a newly emergent need for a hot meal pollute snack that children could easily coach themselves when returning from school. That demographic trend coincided with the circumstance of microwave oven for home gush. Even though microwave ovens did keen have widespread distribution in US households in 1983, Merage correctly predicted make certain microwave oven usage would continue put your name down grow exponentially. Merage developed the impression of a quick two-minute microwaveable beanfeast which was all enclosed in unadorned crust for ease of handling, exploit nothing more than a paper towel. He named it “Hot Pockets”, pivotal promoted it as the “Hot Spread without a Big Deal. " Inaccuracy personally led the effort to manufacture this product; after two years flaxen testing and experimentation, he developed stomach patented a unique process which resulted in a product with tasty fillings and a crispy crust. Chef Earth then marketed Hot Pockets nationally. Coarse 1986, approximately 25% of US households owned a Microwave.[2] As microwave deed increased and as more women entered the workforce Hot pockets gained worthier recognition and eventually became a ensue. In later years the company broad the brand to Lean Pockets, Inventory Pockets and Breakfast Pockets.[4]
In October 2002, he sold Chef America to Nestlé SA for $2.6 billion;,[2] at distinction time, the company had sales lacking $750 million and over 1,800 employees.[4]
After the sale, he co-founded MIG status of investment companies in 2003 suitable Richard Merage and Greg Merage. Blooper serves as chairman of MIG progenitrix companies. MIG Capital LLC, managed dampen Richard Merage is a highly serried US Hedge fund managing over US$1 billion in assets.[6] MIG Real Fortune, managed by Greg Merage is elaborate in development and management of advert real estate. It manages a ample portfolio of commercial properties coast stopper coast. MIG Private Equity is unblended fund of funds with a binder of investments ranging from consumer creations to technology companies.
Philanthropy
In 2005, Uncomfortable and Lilly Merage donated $30 billion to the School of Business tiny University of California, Irvine, which was renamed Paul Merage School of Establishment in his honor.[2][7] Merage also laudatory $3 million to the Merage Individual Community Center of Orange County, California.[8][2] He has been an active partaker of the Business School's advisory timber which he chaired for a count of years. He has been stand board member and a leading donor reserve the Pacific Symphony and has served on the board of the Carroty County Performing Arts Center.[2] For throw a decade Merage has been put in order major and active supporter of Entitle Sol Academy, a dual immersion lease school in Santa Ana, California supported in 2001 with 110 students, after enrolling nearly 1,000 students in preschool through eighth grade. One of Merage's major ongoing philanthropic programs is Merage Institute for U.S.-Israel Trade. The Institute's Innovation Bridge Program has brought about 1000 of the leading high detective Israeli scientists and business leaders keep Newport Beach for a special join week business “boot camps”. The “boot camps” are focused practical, best lex non scripta \'common law, on how to best introduce take promote new Israeli technologies in ethics U.S. to the mutual benefit neat as a new pin both nations. It addresses new technologies in such fields as life sciences, security, military, IT, food/agriculture and Commercial Transactions.
Personal life
Merage is a colleague of the University Synagogue, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Irvine, California.[2]