User:Maxfield2010/Harold Norman Goldsmith

Harold Norman Goldsmith

Harold Norman Goldsmith (Born 1942-Died February 13, 1991) was a prominent Jewish Businessman and Philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland.

Life

Harold Goldsmith was born in Baltimore City, Maryland to Henry and Bess Goldsmith. He followed his father’s legacy by making a fortune in the real estate industry at a very young age. Goldsmith received his first real estate property, a Baltimore row house, as a bar mitzvah gift at the age of 13. He was the co-founder of the popular Merry-Go-Round Enterprises clothing line. In 1981, Goldsmith became interested in the banking industry and bought Eastern Savings Bank located in Southeast Baltimore. He was tragically killed in a jet crash while returning from a business meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada to his home in Aspen, Colorado. Goldsmith’s first marriage to Rona Yospe ended in divorce. At the time of his death, Mr. Goldsmith was married to Beth Himmelstein Goldsmith. He was the father of three children; Adam Drew Goldsmith, Julie Beth Goldsmith, and Henry Josh Goldsmith. Harold Goldsmith was one of the original Hilltop Diner guys that became the inspiration for the Oscar nominated script by Barry Levinson, creator of the 1982 film, “Diner”. His life-long friend, Barry Levinson, described Goldsmith in 1990 as, “Harold was one of those ‘most-likely-to’ guys, the sort who would do well in business”.

Philantrophy

During his lifetime, Goldsmith was a leader of fund raising activities for many Jewish charities. In 1981, he was the chairman of the campaign of the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund. Harold Goldsmith’s legacy continues with a bequest from his estate that established the Goldsmith Family Foundation in 1991. The foundation supports Goldsmith’s belief that providing cultural and educational opportunities to Baltimore youth would have a profound impact on their lives. Beth Himmelstein Goldsmith, his widow, is the current President of the foundation. His three children are actively involved with the foundation as members on the Board of Trustees’s. This foundation helps children in Baltimore City receive a variety of educational opportunities. The Goldsmith Family Foundation implemented an Elementary School Grant Program that annually awards monetary grants to schools located in the Baltimore City Public School Districts. Another highly successful program administered by the foundation is a Scholarship Program established in his memory. By 2008, it was determined that the foundation had provided over $1 million in financial aid to Baltimore and Maryland scholarship recipients to attend educational summer programs.