Gene Klein
American businessman (1921-1990)
Eugene Victor Klein (January 29, 1921 – March 12, 1990) was an American businessman who was chairman of the board of directors and chief stockholder of National General Corporation, an insurance and entertainment company based in Los Angeles, California. Klein was also a founding partner of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), owner of the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1966 to 1984, and a major figure in Thoroughbred horse racing.
Business career
Born to a Jewish family in The Bronx, New York, Klein made his money and reputation in California where he owned a very successful used-car dealership. He was an investor in National Theaters and Television, Inc., which became National General Corp. When the company ran into severe financial difficulty, Klein stepped in to save his investment. As a member of the board of directors, he became actively involved in the company's restructuring and not only restored it to profitability but turned the company into an industry powerhouse. He would end up being appointed its president and chairman.
In 1969, National General Corp acquired Great American Holding Corp., owner of the Great American Insurance Company. In 1973 they merged to become American Financial Group.
Politics
A long-time Democratic Party supporter, Klein helped finance Pierre Salinger in his 1964 election campaign for the United States Senate.
The public source identifies “Gene Klein” as american businessman (1921-1990). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gene, Klein and American.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gene Klein” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.