Charlie Zegar (born 1948) is an American billionaire and computer scientist known for being one of the four co-founders of Bloomberg L.P.
Early life and education
Zegar was born to a Jewish family, the son of Lillian, a musical comedy performer and opera singer, and Henry Zegar, a subway conductor for the New York City Transit Authority. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science from Long Island University and a master’s degree in computer science from New York University.
Career
Zegar worked at the investment bank Salomon Brothers with Michael Bloomberg, Thomas Secunda and Duncan MacMillan. After Bloomberg – who was Solomon’s the former head of equity trading and sales and then head of computer systems and data – was fired when he opposed the takeover of the company by Phibro, a metals trading company, he invited Zegar, Secunda, and Macmillan to start up their own financial data company. They accepted and together they founded Innovative Market Systems with Bloomberg putting most of the seed capital. Secunda, who was a mathematician, was responsible for gathering and inputting the data; MacMillan was responsible for sales; and Zegar wrote the software. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became their first customer by ordering 20 data terminals and investing $30 million in the company (receiving a 30 percent ownership interest). The company grew rapidly thereafter and presently has $7.6B in sales and over 15,000 employees. Bloomberg owns 88% of the company and the three other partners 4% each (In 2008, Bloomberg purchased back Merrill Lynch’s original 30% share).
Philanthropy
Zegar is a signatory of the Giving Pledge. His Zegar Family Foundation donates to Arts, Culture, Humanities, Education, Environment, Health, Medical Research, Human Services and Religion. Zegar is on the Board of Trustees for New York University
Personal life
Zegar has been married twice. He is widowed from his first wife. He remarried in 2001 to administrative judge, Merryl Judith Snow; the service was officiated by Rabbi Joel Goor and took place at the Essex House in Manhattan.
| Charlie Zegar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 (age 68–69) |
| Residence | New York City, New York |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | B.A. Long Island University M.S. New York University |
| Occupation | Computer programmer |
| Known for | co-founder of Bloomberg L.P. |
| Net worth |  US $1.46 billion(Sep 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Spouse 1 (widowed) Merryl Judith Snow |
- Charles Zegar is one of three billionaire cofounders of financial services and media giant Bloomberg LP.
- Zegar, who got a computer science degree at NYU, built the first software for Bloomberg LP’s terminals.
- The son of a subway conductor, he was widowed as a young man and remarried in 2001.
- He and his current wife, Merryl Snow Zegar, donate to Jewish causes and inner-city education via their Zegar Family Foundation.
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