William E. Simon
William Edward Simon (November 27, 1927 – June 3, 2000) was an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the 63rd United States Secretary of the Treasury. He became the Secretary of the Treasury on May 9, 1974, during the Nixon administration. After Nixon resigned, Simon was reappointed by President Gerald Ford and served until 1977 when President Jimmy Carter took office. Outside of government, he was a successful businessman and philanthropist. The William E. Simon Foundation carries on this legacy. He styled himself as a strong advocate of laissez-faire capitalism. He wrote, "There is only one social system that reflects the sovereignty of the individual: the free-market, or capitalist, system".[1]
William E. Simon
John Love (Energy Policy Office)
June 3, 2000 (aged 72)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Laurel Grove Memorial Park
7, including Bill
Early life and career[edit]
Simon was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on November 27, 1927, the son of Eleanor (née Kearns) and Charles Simon Jr., an insurance executive.[2] He attended Blair Academy and graduated from Newark Academy, where he focused more on sports than scholastic pursuits.[3]
After service in the infantry of the United States Army, he received his B.A. in 1952 from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Rho Chapter). In his later life, Simon was a member of the board of trustees from 1972 to 1973.[4]
Personal life[edit]
Simon was a resident of Harding Township, New Jersey.[13] The superyacht Itasca was owned by Simon, the first such yacht to pass through the Northwest Passage, followed by a visit to Antarctica.[14]
He was married first to Carol Girard in 1950. William and Carol Simon had two sons and five daughters (Bill, J. Peter, Mary Beth, Carol Leigh, Aimee, Julie Ann, and Johanna) and 27 grandchildren. She died in 1995. Simon married his second wife, Tonia Adams Donnelley, in 1996.
Death[edit]
Simon died on June 3, 2000, at age 72, in Santa Barbara, California, from complications of pulmonary fibrosis. He is interred at Laurel Grove Memorial Park in Totowa, New Jersey. In 2002, one of his sons, Bill Simon, was the Republican nominee for governor of California in 2002. A daughter, Mary Beth Simon, was married to Dana Streep, brother of actress Meryl Streep.