(JTA) — S.I. Newhouse Jr., the billionaire media mogul who ran dozens of magazines and newspapers, has died.
Newhouse, the grandson of Russian immigrants who was known as Si but whose initials stand for Samuel Irving, died Sunday at his home in Manhattan at the age of 89.
Newhouse and his brother Donald owned Advance Publications, founded by their late father in 1922. Newhouse since 1975 ran the magazine division, known as Conde Nast, which publishes signature magazines such as Vogue, Glamour, Self, GQ, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker .
Newhouse reportedly shunned the spotlight and rarely gave interviews. He was known as a workaholic who arrived at his Manhattan office before dawn and sometimes convened staff meetings at 6 a.m., according to the New York Times. He said he read every one of his magazines from cover to cover, the Times also reported.
He appeared in 109th place on the 2017 Forbes billionaires list with a net worth of $12.1 billion.
Newhouse was the owner of an extensive modern art collection, that contained works by Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. He was a former member of the board of the Museum of Modern Art, and also enjoyed movies, theater, and the opera.
He is survived by his second wife, Victoria, and two of his three children from his first marriage.
