Jeffrey Lurie

Jeffrey Lurie
Lurie in 2020
Born	Jeffrey Robert Lurie (1951-09-08) September 8, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Clark University Boston University Brandeis University
Organization	Philadelphia Eagles
Title	Chairman/CEO
Term	1994–present
Spouses	Christina Weiss Lurie ​ ​ (m. 1992; div. 2012)​ Tina Lai ​ (m. 2013)​
Parent(s)	Nancy Smith Lurie Morris John Lurie
Family	Philip Smith (grandfather) Richard A. Smith (uncle)
Awards	Super Bowl LII champion

Jeffrey Robert Lurie (born September 8, 1951) is an American businessman, motion picture producer, and owner of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), which he acquired in May 1994.

Early life and education

Lurie was born to a Jewish family in Boston, the son of Nancy (née Smith) and Morris John Lurie. His grandfather, Philip Smith, founded the General Cinema movie theater chain, which was one of the largest operators of drive-in movie theaters in the United States. His uncle is Richard A. Smith. He has two siblings, Peter and Cathy. His father died April 14, 1961, at the age of 44 when Jeffrey was nine years old.

In the late 1960s, General Cinema began acquiring bottling franchises, including a Pepsi bottling operation. General Cinema evolved over the years into Harcourt General Inc., a $3.7-billion conglomerate based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with 23,700 employees worldwide. In its heyday it was the nation's fourth-largest chain of movie theaters, owned several publishing houses, three insurance companies, and a leading global consulting firm. In 1984 minority interest in Carter Hawley Hale was acquired, which was at the time the tenth-largest clothing retailer in the United States, including Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman-Marcus.

Lurie earned a B.A. from Clark University, a master's degree in psychology from Boston University, and a doctorate in social policy from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, where he wrote his thesis on the depiction of women in Hollywood movies. He was born to Jewish parents but has spent his adult life as a non-practicing Jew. Prior to entering business, Lurie served as an adjunct assistant professor of social policy at Boston University.

Career

In 1983, he left academia to join General Cinema Corporation, a major film company founded by his grandfather, Philip Smith, and headed by his uncle, Richard A. Smith. He worked as an executive in the company as a liaison between General Cinema Corporation and the production community in Hollywood. He was also an advisor in The General Cinema national film buying office.

He then founded Chestnut Hill Productions in 1985, which produced a string of Hollywood movies and TV shows. The company initially started off with a multi-feature joint venture with Tri-Star Pictures to develop projects, then in 1987, three of the Chestnut Hill projects were picked up by MGM/UA Communications Co., two with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures each, and a single picture Chestnut Hill is producing for Universal Pictures, and a majority of the eight Chestnut Hill productions would be received by Tri-Star Pictures which then become an independent production company. Tri-Star Pictures received first look at all projects that were handled by Chestnut Hill Productions, with Tri-Star and Chestnut Hill to co-finance development and Tri-Star could pick up the entire tab on production.

On February 27, 2011, the Lurie-produced movie Inside Job won an Academy Award (Oscar) for best documentary film. The company also produced television commercials. Two years later he won a second Oscar when Inocente, in which he was executive producer, won for Best Documentary Short Film.

In 2020, Forbes ranked him No. 319 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.

Philadelphia Eagles ownership

As a fan of all the Boston sports teams, Lurie went to games and put himself to sleep listening to the Boston Red Sox on his transistor radio. The Luries had been season-ticket holders since the New England Patriots franchise began in 1960, the year the American Football League was founded. Lurie cheered for Gino Cappelletti, Houston Antwine, and Babe Parilli. In 1993, Lurie tried to buy the New England Patriots, but he dropped out of the bidding at $150 million when his uncle Richard Smith nixed the purchase based on the financials.

Lurie's name also had surfaced in sale talks regarding the Los Angeles Rams, and he was a potential investor in a bid for a Baltimore expansion team with Robert Tisch, who subsequently bought 50% of the New York Giants. Five months later, Smith agreed to let his nephew buy the Philadelphia Eagles. Lurie contacted Norman Braman, then owner of the Eagles. Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles on May 6, 1994, from Braman for $195 million (equivalent to $401 million in 2023). Lurie and his mother, Nancy Lurie Marks, the only daughter of Philip Smith, borrowed $190 million from the Bank of Boston to buy the Eagles. To back the Bank of Boston loan, Lurie put up millions of dollars worth of personal stock in Harcourt General and GC Companies Inc. as equity. He and his mother also put up stock in the family trust as collateral so Lurie could borrow the rest.

In 2017, Forbes valued the Eagles at $2.65 billion, ranking them 10th among NFL teams in value.

On February 4, 2018, the Eagles defeated the Patriots to win Super Bowl LII by the score of 41–33, giving Lurie his first title as Eagles owner. The victory evened the score with New England, as the previous Lurie-era Super Bowl appearance was a 24–21 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Personal life

In a pre-production meeting for I Love You To Death, Lurie met Christina Weiss, a former actress who was working for his production company. In 1992, Lurie married Weiss in Gstaad, Switzerland. They have two children: a daughter Milena (b. 1993) and a son Julian (b. 1995). In 2012, the couple announced that they were divorcing; the divorce was finalized in August 2012. On May 4, 2013, he married Tina Lai.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Box Office
1988	Sweet Hearts Dance	$3,790,493
1990	I Love You to Death	$16,186,793
1991	V.I. Warshawski	$11,128,309
1996	Foxfire	$269,300

As an actor

Year	Film	Role
1996	Jerry Maguire	Himself

Thanks

Year	Film	Role
1996	Jerry Maguire	Special thanks

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1993	Blind Side	Executive producer	Television film
1994	State of Emergency	Executive producer	Television film
1996	Malibu Shores	Co-executive producer Co-producer
2014	POV	Executive producer

As an actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon	Barney's Friend	Television film
2000	Arliss	Himself

Awards and honors

• Three-time Academy Award winner:
  • 2011 for Best Documentary as executive producer of Inside Job
  • 2013 for Best Documentary Short Film as executive producer of Inocente
  • 2022 for Best Documentary Feature as executive producer of Summer of Soul.
• Super Bowl LII champion as owner of the Eagles

External links

• Philadelphia Eagles profile
• Jeffrey Lurie at IMDb