NORTON SIMON
Name: Norton Winfred Simon
Born: February 5, 1907
Died: June 1, 1993
Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907-June 1, 1993), in the United States was a
millionaire industrialist and philanthropist based in California. A significant
art collector, he is the namesake of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena,
California.
Born into a successful Jewish family in Portland, Oregon, he attended high
school in San Francisco, graduating in 1924. At his father's insistence, in 1925
he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, but left his pre-law
studies within the first six weeks to found a sheet metal distribution company.
He enjoyed early success and invested $7000 in 1927 in an orange juice bottling
plant in Fullerton which was insolvent and renamed it Val Vita Food Products
Company. He soon added other fruit and vegetables to the product lines and
purchased canning equipment.
Name: Norton Winfred Simon
Born: February 5, 1907
Died: June 1, 1993
Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907-June 1, 1993), in the United States was a
millionaire industrialist and philanthropist based in California. A significant
art collector, he is the namesake of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena,
California.
Born into a successful Jewish family in Portland, Oregon, he attended high
school in San Francisco, graduating in 1924. At his father's insistence, in 1925
he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, but left his pre-law
studies within the first six weeks to found a sheet metal distribution company.
He enjoyed early success and invested $7000 in 1927 in an orange juice bottling
plant in Fullerton which was insolvent and renamed it Val Vita Food Products
Company. He soon added other fruit and vegetables to the product lines and
purchased canning equipment.