Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter: Reclusive Friend of The Trump Appears: A Cause for Worry

perlmutterIke Perlmutter is the reclusive billionaire who is the second highest owner of Disney stock and is also the guy in charge of Marvel Films. He is a notorious cheapskate. A guy who worked for him tells how he got a letter from a friend and attached to the letter with a paper clip was the friend’s business card. He took the card off the letter after reading it and tossed the letter into the waste basket. Ike came into his office and looked at his waste basket and saw the paper clip attached to it. He took it off and told the guy that he should save it because if he didn’t Ike would have to buy another one for him if he needed it.

Another story tells of how Ike would take a piece of paper that had writing on only one side of it and tear it into eight pieces so he could use the blank sides as memos. On and on the stories go about him being a tight wad which doesn’t bother me in the least. I was brought up with the idea supposedly put our by Ben Franklin. “waste not want not.” I guess I also like to pinch the silver dollar until the eagle screams.

It is said that he had one black actor in his first movie about one of those marvel characters but changed to another one in the follow-up sequence because he could hire him for less money. Most of the actors who have worked for him complain about the meager wages. Interesting though, they do sign contracts and perform for those wages so Ike pretty much figured out what they are worth.

Ike, unlike me, is very wealthy. He is worth around 3.8 billion according to some estimates. Some say it is more and others say not that much but what’s a billion or so among friends. He didn’t become a billionaire by saving paper clips but he probably put together his first few hundred or thousand by doing that and from that initial frugality which allowed him to gain some assets – you know as Ben says a penny saved is a penny earned, or as Ike would say a penny not thrown away is a penny saved – which assets allowed him to buy other assets and begin his assent into the billionaire clouds.

Ike was born in 1942 – he served in the Israeli army and came to the United States in his twenties with $250 in his pocket. Not much is known about him since he is a very, very private man. So little is known is that the only known photograph of him was taken about thirty years ago. So it was somewhat surprising when a Reuter’s photographer seeing The Trump looking out the window at his residence in Florida saw him standing in the background. He snapped the picture and we now have an up-to-date photograph of him. It did turn out he gave a million dollars to a veteran’s group on behalf of the fund The Trump was raising for the veterans.

You can Google Perlmutter to find out more although you won’t find out too much other than what I’ve spelled out. The Daily Beast has an article “Meet the Reclusive Marvel Mogul Who Loves Marco Rubio and Donald Trump” which has more information than most. One quote in that article really caught my attention because of my fear that Trump is going to lead us into war with Iran because of his closeness to Israel and Netanyahu’s desire that we attack Iran.

It reads: “He didn’t have any children, and he did tell me once that he would leave everything to Israel when he died.”  It reminded me of the other billionaire Sheldon Adelson who has urged America to use nuclear weapons against Iran by dropping one on Tehran a city of over eight million people. (Google “Sheldon Adelson Iran”) Adelson said he would want his sons to grow up and serve in the Israeli military.

I’ve always been bothered that these guys who make their money in the United States using the great freedoms here have so little gratitude to this country. But what heightens it is their pushing for the US to lose its wealth and troops to fight Israel’s enemies real or imagined as if the 3.8 billion plus we give each year is not enough.

They have a friend in The Trump. Their hearts are with Israel. Do you wonder why Trump brought up the nuclear issue. It all augurs tough days ahead for America.

 

 

7 Comments

  1. I am always truly in awe that so much of the 20th and 21st centuries have been devoted to worrying about, apologising, protecting, sponsoring and taking care of a once nomadic tribe of ‘stiff necked people’ whose claim to fame and legitimacy is a book they themselves wrote and the theft of land. It shows the power of the media and money, though.

    There will be no end to alleged anti-semitism until the Jews reliquish their centuries old racism and claims of G-d given superiority to the ‘goyem’ (cattle.) People like Perlmutter say ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ every Yom Kippur and mean a place without the descendants of Abraham’s first son…by any means possible.

  2. Matt, much respect you also are a “rags to riches: story, but considering we know so little about Perlmutter judging his motives for leaving his money to Israel, if thats the case, is pushing it. Only God judges the hearts and minds, and one thing we can all agree on is we are not God (not including Deepka Chopra). In regards to Israel, I have met Israelis (along with MX, EU, all of Asia and South America) who seem so ungrateful to the US considering what we do for them, and this bugs me, however I dont see any Israelis blowing up US building or targeting Americans abroad, unless of course it is a “really good deal”

  3. The portrait of political mega-donors described fits a pattern of a dozen or more of Hillary backers. A terrible commentary on American politics.

    In reply to the name caller above, js, my personal observation of most charges of antisemitism is that well in excess of 95% of them is that they are a normal, healthy, to be expected reaction to sociopathic Racist Jewish behavior. Your, dishonest let’s close down the conversation with your favorite “shut up word”, antisemite, does not work with me or few others here. Remember: No Holodomor, No Holocaust. The former does not need laws to protect the legend; the latter, does. Odd, that.

    • DIE GEDANKEN SIND FREI

      ( THOUGHTS ARE FREE)

      It is helpful to have a Jew who knew
      Hitler to remind us of that . 🙂

      HAPPY CHANNUKAH

      LE CHAIM ★

  4. Jonathan:
    How about some ideas, instead of name calling?
    Some people make ad-hominem attacks to stifle debate, to end conversations. That won’t work here.
    Do you often call people bigots and psychos whose ideas you find “offensive”? Your knee-jerk reaction itself is that of a bigot or of an untreated hypersensitive personality disorder. Work on your biases or get back on your meds!
    You’re offended? I’m offended that you’re offended!
    So what!
    Now that we’ve both expressed our offense at others’ words, lets leave the kids’ playground behind and re-enter the world of grown ups. What ideas do you have to offer?

  5. I’ve enjoyed your reportage since the Whitey Bulger trial. However, your insidious side comments and marginalia indicate a deeply entrenched anti-Semitism that you need to work on to assuage or eradicate. It’s really offensive no matter how latent and hidden you may think it is. Get some psychiatric help!!

  6. Someone said they voted for BHO because Romney would get us in a war with Iran. We didn’t go to war with Iran but we did war in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan. BHO ran for re election on the false claim that he stopped two wars. He didn’t. We are still fighting them. Are the peaceniks who voted for Obama happy they did? 2. The Russian hacking claim appears to be a scam to poison relations between Trump and Russia. The evidence is as persuasive as Our Man in Havana’s vacuum design. If it happened it is a tempest in a teapot and should be ignored. The U S should form an alliance with Russia, Iran, Assad and others to defeat ISIS. Once that is complete you can re assess your positions if desired.