Sidney Harman Dies at Age 92

Sidney Harman, who was the co-founder of Harman International (then Harman/Kardon), a prominent entrepreneur, and deputy secretary of commerce under President Jimmy Carter, passed away Tuesday night. Harman was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and died at age 92 in Washington, D.C. surrounded by his wife and children. He was born in Montreal on August 4, 1918, and grew up in New York City. He graduated from City College in 1939 with a physics degree which he later applied to his benefit in developing audio products. In 1953, Harman co-founded Harman/Kardon and sold the company in 1976 when he entered politics. Then, in 1980, he bought the company back and served as its CEO for the next 28 years until 2008. Always the entrepreneur, Harman was most recently known for a tremendously bold business decision. In 2010 he actually bought Newsweek from the Washington Post Company for just $1. Of course the company came with $47 million in debts. This became one of his passions and Harman was actively involved in the magazine's operations until recently.

According to the obituary at Forbes.com, Harman's net worth was around $500 million in 2010 (not that it's anyone's business). What's more impressive to us was that he gave away millions to education, the performing and fine arts and other philanthropies.

Harman is survived by his wife, former Congresswoman Jane Harman. Memorial services are to be held in both Washington and Los Angeles, CA.