Not to be confused with the American businessman Jerry W. Levin.
Gerald M. "Jerry" Levin (born May 6, 1939) is an American mass-media businessman. Levin was involved in brokering the merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000, at the height of the dot-com bubble, a merger which was ultimately disadvantageous to Time Warner and described as "the biggest train wreck in the history of corporate America."[1]
In 2000, he claimed that "media will become the dominant industry in the 21st century, and the global media will become even stronger than the government."[citation needed] Levin spent most of his career with Time Inc. (later Time Warner, then AOL Time Warner), starting there in 1972 as a programming executive for the new Home Box Office (HBO) and eventually becoming CEO of the corporation after the ouster of his nemesis Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr. Interviewed by the journalist Nina Munk, Levin would later admit: "It is absolutely true that I plotted the departure of Nick Nicholas after working with his for 20 years. And I don't have any justification for it other than I am a strange person."[7] Levin is best known for orchestrating with Steve Case the disastrous merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000, at the height of the dot-com bubble, which destroyed $200 billion in shareholder value as the bubble collapsed. Following the deal, CNBC named him as one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time."[8] According to The New York Times, the merger is used by business schools as a case study of "the worst [deal] in history."[9] In her book about the deal, Munk writes, "The disastrous merger...epitomizes the culture of corporate America and Wall Street in the late 1990s. It records the climate in executive suites, where as long as a company's stock price kept going up and up, a CEO was all-powerful, like a king with divine rights."[10]
Whereas Levin had once been "perhaps the most powerful media executive in the world,"[11], he largely disappeared from public view after the collapse of AOL Time Warner. In 2007, he was reported by New York (magazine)[12] to be "presiding director of Moonview Sanctuary, a “holistic healing institute” with a full-time staff of fewer than twenty people" founded by his new wife, Laurie Ann Perlman, a clinical psychologist. In 2013, he was named chairman of a start-up called Elation Media, raising $150,000 of seed funding, according to Crowdfund Insider, to launch a "live and on-demand service" with programming topics that include "alternative medicine, world peace, visionary art, personal growth and the environment."[13] As of July 2022, Elation TV does not appear to have launched.
Personal life
Levin has been married three times and fathered five children.[14] His first wife was Carol Needleman, whom he met at summer camp in the 1960s; they divorced in 1970.[2] In 1970, he married Barbara J. Riley;[2] they divorced in 2003.[15] His third wife was Laurie Ann Perlman,[16] a Hollywood agent turned psychologist who had been formerly married to Jack Rapke; they divorced in 2020.[17][18]
Murder of Jonathan Levin
One of his children, Jonathan Levin, a 31-year-old high school English teacher at Taft High School in the Bronx, was murdered on May 31, 1997 during a robbery by one of his own students.[19][20] The student, Corey Arthur, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to the maximum allowed term of 25 years to life in prison in November 1998, with the judge concluding that Arthur had taken sadistic pleasure in the crime and shown no remorse. A purported accomplice, Montoun Hart, was acquitted on the same charges in February 1999. While Hart had written a confession, jurors were not able to find out how it was obtained and felt it was unreliable.[21]
The murder occurred after Jonathan had mentioned in the classroom that his father was Time Warner head Gerald Levin. The former student, Corey Arthur, assumed that Jonathan was wealthy. Arthur stole Jonathan's bank card and tortured him to obtain the account's PIN, obtaining about $800 from the account.[22]
^Arango, Tim. "How The AOL-Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
^Munk, Nina (2004). Fools Rush In: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner. HarperBusiness. ISBN0060540346.
^Stevenson, Seth. "The Believer". The New York Mag. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
^Stevenson, Seth. "The Believer". The New York Mag. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
^Crownfund Insider: "Elation Media Reveals Kansas’ Paul Mai Backing; Announces Series A Funding Round" by Samantha Hurst June 16, 2015
^"Gerald Levin". Heights - Jewish Business Ethics. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
^New York Times: "Private Sector; Which Kind of Merger Is Harder: The Corporate or the Marital?" by Geraldine Fabrikant January 12, 2003
^Levin, By Laurie Ann (October 1, 2009). God, the Universe, and Where I Fit In. HCI. p. 245. ISBN9780757314407.
^Variety: "Levin heads for divorce" by Jill Goldsmith January 12, 2003
^Alexandra Wolfe and Anna Jane Grossman (June 2, 2003). "Hot Flash! Trophy Wife Models Are Passé: Rudy to Jack Welch, Remarrying Geezers Get Middle-Aged Babes With Power Dowries". The Observer.
^David Rohde (December 11, 1998). "Jurors Convict Youth in Killing Of His Teacher". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
^"Paid Notice: Deaths LEVIN, JONATHAN". The New York Times. June 4, 1997. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
^Laura Italiano (February 12, 1999). "LEVIN-SLAY SUSPECT'S BOOZE & POT SPREE SETS HIM FREE". New York Post.
^"Jonathan Levin is tortured and killed by his former student". History Channel. May 30, 1997.
External links
Gerald Levin's page at The Museum of Broadcast Communications' website
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For the U S federal judge see Gerald Sanford Levin Not to be confused with the American businessman Jerry W Levin Gerald M Jerry Levin born May 6 1939 is an American mass media businessman Levin was involved in brokering the merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000 at the height of the dot com bubble a merger which was ultimately disadvantageous to Time Warner and described as the biggest train wreck in the history of corporate America 1 Gerald LevinBornGerald Levin 1939 05 06 May 6 1939 age 83 Philadelphia PennsylvaniaNationalityAmericanSpouse s Carol Needleman divorced Barbara Riley divorced Laurie Ann Perlman Rapke divorced Children5 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career and later life 3 Personal life 3 1 Murder of Jonathan Levin 4 Further reading 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and education EditLevin was born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2 to a Jewish family of Russian and Romanian origins 3 4 5 His father was a butter and eggs man and his mother was a piano teacher 2 He lived as a child in the suburbs of Philadelphia in Upper Darby and then Overbrook Hills After graduating second in his class at Lower Merion High School where he was named to the Honor Society he attended Haverford College 6 He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1963 Career and later life EditIn 2000 he claimed that media will become the dominant industry in the 21st century and the global media will become even stronger than the government citation needed Levin spent most of his career with Time Inc later Time Warner then AOL Time Warner starting there in 1972 as a programming executive for the new Home Box Office HBO and eventually becoming CEO of the corporation after the ouster of his nemesis Nicholas J Nicholas Jr Interviewed by the journalist Nina Munk Levin would later admit It is absolutely true that I plotted the departure of Nick Nicholas after working with his for 20 years And I don t have any justification for it other than I am a strange person 7 Levin is best known for orchestrating with Steve Case the disastrous merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000 at the height of the dot com bubble which destroyed 200 billion in shareholder value as the bubble collapsed Following the deal CNBC named him as one of the Worst American CEOs of All Time 8 According to The New York Times the merger is used by business schools as a case study of the worst deal in history 9 In her book about the deal Munk writes The disastrous merger epitomizes the culture of corporate America and Wall Street in the late 1990s It records the climate in executive suites where as long as a company s stock price kept going up and up a CEO was all powerful like a king with divine rights 10 Whereas Levin had once been perhaps the most powerful media executive in the world 11 he largely disappeared from public view after the collapse of AOL Time Warner In 2007 he was reported by New York magazine 12 to be presiding director of Moonview Sanctuary a holistic healing institute with a full time staff of fewer than twenty people founded by his new wife Laurie Ann Perlman a clinical psychologist In 2013 he was named chairman of a start up called Elation Media raising 150 000 of seed funding according to Crowdfund Insider to launch a live and on demand service with programming topics that include alternative medicine world peace visionary art personal growth and the environment 13 As of July 2022 Elation TV does not appear to have launched Personal life EditLevin has been married three times and fathered five children 14 His first wife was Carol Needleman whom he met at summer camp in the 1960s they divorced in 1970 2 In 1970 he married Barbara J Riley 2 they divorced in 2003 15 His third wife was Laurie Ann Perlman 16 a Hollywood agent turned psychologist who had been formerly married to Jack Rapke they divorced in 2020 17 18 Murder of Jonathan Levin Edit One of his children Jonathan Levin a 31 year old high school English teacher at Taft High School in the Bronx was murdered on May 31 1997 during a robbery by one of his own students 19 20 The student Corey Arthur was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to the maximum allowed term of 25 years to life in prison in November 1998 with the judge concluding that Arthur had taken sadistic pleasure in the crime and shown no remorse A purported accomplice Montoun Hart was acquitted on the same charges in February 1999 While Hart had written a confession jurors were not able to find out how it was obtained and felt it was unreliable 21 The murder occurred after Jonathan had mentioned in the classroom that his father was Time Warner head Gerald Levin The former student Corey Arthur assumed that Jonathan was wealthy Arthur stole Jonathan s bank card and tortured him to obtain the account s PIN obtaining about 800 from the account 22 Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications in The Bronx New York City is named after the murdered teacher Further reading EditMunk Nina Fools Rush In Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner HarperCollins 2004 ISBN 978 0060540340 Klein Alec Stealing Time Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner Simon amp Schuster 2003 ISBN 0 7432 5984 XReferences Edit Munk Nina 2004 Fools Rush In Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner HarperBusiness ISBN 0060540346 a b c d Reference for Business Gerald Levin Retired chairman and chief executive officer AOL Time Warner retrieved March 29 2015 To the End of Time The Seduction and Conquest of a Media Empire Simon amp Schuster 1992 Retrieved August 13 2010 Russian Romanian David Plotz January 14 2000 Time Warner s Gerald Levin Slate Cleveland Jewish News The 30 plus most influential Jews in America December 27 2001 Munk Nina 2004 Fools Rush In Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner HarperBusiness ISBN 0060540346 Munk Nina 2004 Fools Rush In Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner HarperBusiness ISBN 0060540346 CNBC com Arango Tim How The AOL Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong The New York Times Retrieved July 1 2022 Munk Nina 2004 Fools Rush In Steve Case Jerry Levin and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner HarperBusiness ISBN 0060540346 Stevenson Seth The Believer The New York Mag Retrieved July 9 2009 Stevenson Seth The Believer The New York Mag Retrieved July 9 2009 Crownfund Insider Elation Media Reveals Kansas Paul Mai Backing Announces Series A Funding Round by Samantha Hurst June 16 2015 Gerald Levin Heights Jewish Business Ethics Retrieved 24 October 2013 New York Times Private Sector Which Kind of Merger Is Harder The Corporate or the Marital by Geraldine Fabrikant January 12 2003 Levin By Laurie Ann October 1 2009 God the Universe and Where I Fit In HCI p 245 ISBN 9780757314407 Variety Levin heads for divorce by Jill Goldsmith January 12 2003 Alexandra Wolfe and Anna Jane Grossman June 2 2003 Hot Flash Trophy Wife Models Are Passe Rudy to Jack Welch Remarrying Geezers Get Middle Aged Babes With Power Dowries The Observer David Rohde December 11 1998 Jurors Convict Youth in Killing Of His Teacher The New York Times Retrieved April 25 2011 Paid Notice Deaths LEVIN JONATHAN The New York Times June 4 1997 Retrieved August 7 2012 Laura Italiano February 12 1999 LEVIN SLAY SUSPECT S BOOZE amp POT SPREE SETS HIM FREE New York Post Jonathan Levin is tortured and killed by his former student History Channel May 30 1997 External links EditGerald Levin s page at The Museum of Broadcast Communications website Appearances on C SPAN Forbes Magazine article about Levin s resignation from AOL Time Warner October 20 1998 CNN com news article discussing opening statements at the trial of Jonathan Levin s then suspected murderer Moonview Sanctuary Gerald Levin s holistic treatment center based in Santa Monica CaliforniaBusiness positionsPreceded bySteve Ross Time Warner CEO1992 2002 Succeeded byRichard Parsons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerald M Levin amp oldid 1095961378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
