142:, the former secretary to Herbert Hoover and director of the American Relief Administration with the task to get food and medical assistance to the famine-stricken areas of Russia and Europe. Sonnenberg took the job where he realized what it was like to be rich, and he fell in love with the lifestyle that coincided. At the age of 22, he rented a room in Greenwich Village and made an earning by providing publicity for Jewish fund drives, writing stories for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. He also did some public relations work for the Salvation Army, and a few night clubs.
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kept his staff very small and hired freelancers as needed, but did much of the work himself. From 1929, his fee income was at least $ 250,000 a year and from 1942 to his death it was always at least half a million annually. By 1930, Sonnenberg and the field of Public
Relations were becoming very well known. Sonnenberg made his clients look up to press agents, rather than looking down on them. He moved to No.19 in 1931 and rented out the two bottom floors and by 1945 he was able to afford the whole thing.
91:, where his mother was a cleaning lady. Miss Wald, the director, was very impressed with Ben. At the age of 16, she offered him a job as the leader of the boy's club, and in turn allowed him to continue his schooling and live at the settlement house. Two years later, Miss Wald helped him get a scholarship to study at Columbia College. He got a job covering Columbia University sports for the
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number of clients. In his later years
Sonnenberg focused less on making money and more on his hobbies, collecting being his favorite. He went for one last collecting jaunt to England in 1978 at the age of 76. In his final phase he worked alone. He claimed to have earned between $ 25 million to $ 30 million in his lifetime.
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He became a full-time publicist in 1925. In 1927, he persuaded his father to retire because he felt financially secure and like he had "arrived." In 1929, he left
Greenwich Village and opened his office in a more luxurious building at 247 Park Avenue. He incorporated as Publicity Consultants Inc. He
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After 36 years of hustling clients and building a business, Sonnenberg closed down
Publicity Consultants, Inc. in 1963, because 247 Park Avenue was being torn down and his right-hand man George Schreiber was terminally ill with a brain tumor. He became strictly a consultant and gradually reduced his
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Sonnenberg had such an air of persuasion and success about him that his clients would pay a fee just to talk with him on the phone. He loved showing off his extravagance with his clients through entertaining and gift giving. Sonnenberg gained mass success and affluence because he was dedicated to
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He married Hilda Kaplan in March 1924. Brendan Gill, a close friend of
Sonnenberg claimed, "Ben wanted to be remembered as he was in his prime." His will was written on December 7, 1977 after he learned he was terminally ill with throat cancer. The will directed his executors of this estate to
69:(now Ukraine). He began his life living in poverty in a small wooden hut. His father immigrated to New York in 1905 and began work in dry goods; Sonnenberg, his mother, and his two younger sisters, Mary (Masche) and Belle (Beile), moved to Warsaw; they joined Harry in New York in 1910 via the
240:, for free who stated, "I learned more from Ben Sonnenberg about life and business than from any other person except my father." Working for Pepperdine, Inc. made Sonnenberg a multimillionaire. Pepperdine, Inc was created by a poor family that made bread suitable for asthmatics and sold to
204:, an extremely successful architect, in 1950. "If there is one single achievement that public relations men cite Sonnenberg for, it is the media barrage that he engineered for Luckman, beginning with a Time cover piece." In 1927, Sonnenberg publicized
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with almost 700 or 800 in attendance. It was a sellout and tickets sold for $ 50. There was a live fashion show. There were also live mannequins in the store windows. Because of this great success he was then hired by Fred
Lazares Jr. who operated
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A self-described "cabinetmaker who fashioned large pedestals for small statues", Sonnenberg represented many clients. While his company, Publicity
Consultants Inc., was nominally located in offices on
189:. His success lead to Weintraub hiring him to promote the other two hotels Weintraub managed. This also lead to Sonnenberg's introduction to Joel Hillman who was about to open the
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neighborhood of
Manhattan, where he was renowned for his lavish entertaining for his clients and his contacts in the press. As his son would later describe in his memoir
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consultant who represented celebrities and major corporations. He was best known for the lavish entertaining he hosted for clients and other notables at his
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department store for $ 100 a month. He was then hired to promote the 50th anniversary in 1951. He planned for a gala dinner dance in the
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with the
Chicago Portrait Company as a door-to-door salesman. He became bored and quit after two months. Then, he hitchhiked to
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Always Live Better Than Your
Clients: The Fabulous Life and Times of Benjamin Sonnenberg, America's Greatest Publicist.
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following through on his promises to his clients, and because of this his reputation grew by
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His first big break was when he persuaded Oscar Weintraub to hire him to promote the new
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destroy all his files and papers. Sonnenberg died in New York City at age 77 of a
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Sonnenberg was unsatisfied by the challenge of college and answered an ad in
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BENJAMIN SONNENBERG (1901-1978), Social Security Death Index
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in Paris, which became Sonnenbergs' first European account.
61:), to Polish Jewish parents, Harry (Arje) Sonenberg from
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in 1958 for $ 28 million, which earned him $ 9 million.
95:. This helped his writing skills to become a publicist.
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Upon returning to New York City, his first work in the
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Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
324:(1994). "Chapter 13: Ben Sonnenburg: Sui Generis".
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Lost Property: Memoirs and Confessions of a Bad Boy
121:where he worked as a reporter and movie critic for
26:; July 12, 1901 – September 6, 1978) was an
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83:Sonnenberg attended Public School No.62 and then
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428:The Unseen Power: Public Relations: A History
326:The Unseen Power: Public Relations, a history
136:American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
341:Norwich, William. "Style; House Of Mirth",
293:, November 6, 1978. Accessed June 29, 2010.
328:. L. Erlbaum Associates. pp. 343–371.
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496:American people of Polish-Jewish descent
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65:and Ida (Chaya) Sonenberg from
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380:Barmash, Isadore (1983).
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185:, and the Grand Dutchess
146:Public relations career
89:Henry Street Settlement
49:Sonnenberg was born in
418:Dodd, Mead and Company
359:Jewish Virtual Library
103:on September 6, 1978.
39:19 Gramercy Park South
395:Clarke, Nick (1999).
37:townhouse located at
219:Abraham & Straus
287:Staff. Obituaries,
20:Benjamin Sonnenberg
413:Barmash, Isadore.
357:Public Relations,
343:The New York Times
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183:George Matchabelli
175:Fifth Avenue Hotel
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456:1978 deaths
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210:Plaza Hotel
179:Trader Horn
152:Park Avenue
445:Categories
257:References
229:in Miami.
45:Background
227:Burdine's
181:, Prince
35:Manhattan
71:SS
28:American
426:(1994)
408:Sources
223:Filenes
59:Belarus
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248:Legacy
63:Warsaw
22:(born
73:Birma
67:Kowel
57:(now
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