Jeffrey Brotman | |
---|---|
Born | Jeffrey Hart Brotman September 27, 1942 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
Died | August 1, 2017 Medina, Washington, U.S. | (aged 74)
Alma mater | University of Washington (B.A. & J.D.) |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, investor, philanthropist |
Known for | Co-founder and chairman of Costco |
Spouse |
Susan Thrailkill (m. 1976) |
Children | 2 |
Jeffrey Hart Brotman (September 27, 1942 – August 1, 2017) was an American businessman, investor, lawyer, and philanthropist. Brotman was the co-founder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Brotman was born in a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman.[1][2][3] His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from the Kingdom of Romania, now Romania, to Saskatchewan; his parents immigrated to the US and settled in Tacoma.[1][3] His father was an owner of Seattle Knitting Mills. Along with his uncles, he owned a chain of 18 retail stores in Washington and Oregon named Bernie's.[2][4]
In 1965, the family moved to Seattle.[2] Brotman graduated from the University of Washington in 1964 with a degree in political science and in 1967 with a J.D.[2] He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Washington.[5] After school, he and his brother, Michael, founded a women's jeans store named Bottoms; and in the 1980s, they founded the Jeffrey Michael chain of men's clothing stores, which they operated into the 1990s.[2]
In 1982, Brotman co-founded Costco Wholesale Corporation with Jim Sinegal,[6] a protégé of Sol Price, the founder of PriceSmart.[1] He served as chairman from the company's inception until his death, except during a stretch from 1993 to 1994 when he was vice chairman.[7][8] In 2017, Costco operated 736 warehouse stores.[3]
Brotman was also an early investor in Howard Schultz's Starbucks coffee.[3]
Brotman served on the boards of several public companies and[9] according to Businessweek magazine, was "connected to 13 board members".[10][11] He sat on the board of directors of the Million-Dollar Roundtable at the United Way of King County.[12] He also served on the boards of Seafirst Bank, Starbucks, and was a trustee at the Seattle Art Museum.[13] He and his wife Susan donated to numerous causes, especially at the University of Washington, where they funded hundreds of student scholarships. They also endowed the Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professorship at UW Law School, currently held by Steve Calandrillo.
Brotman was married to Susan Thrailkill, a Montana native and a former retail executive who served on the board of Nordstorm; they had two children, Justin Brotman, an activist and businessman,[14][15] and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt, a Barnard College graduate who is a businessman working in sustainability, philanthropy, and design. [16] [1][17][18]
On August 1, 2017, Brotman died in Medina, Washington at the age of 74.[19][7] He died in his sleep, possibly due to heart failure.[20] He was a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma.[3]