Sidney E. Frank (October 2, 1919 – January 10, 2006) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He became a billionaire through his promotion of Grey Goose vodka and Jägermeister. Frank was born to a Jewish family[1] in Montville, Connecticut. His father and mother were Abraham and Sarah Frank. He grew up in Norwich, Connecticut, and graduated from the Norwich Free Academy in 1937. He attended Brown University (class of 1942) but left because he could only afford one year of tuition. He later made enormous gifts to the university to ensure that no student would ever be forced to leave Brown because of inability to pay tuition. Brown University named its new Life Sciences building (its largest capital project up to date) after Sidney Frank,[2] the single most generous donor in the university's history. During World War II, Frank worked for Pratt and Whitney as a manufacturer's representative in India exploring ways to improve engine performance enabling aircraft to deal with the high altitudes encountered in the CBI theater.

This was particularly important in improving the performance of transport aircraft flying supplies into China. The use of alcohol injection for aircraft engines was one of the approaches taken. Frank's first wife, Louise Rosenstiel, was the daughter of Lewis Rosenstiel, founder of Schenley Industries, one of the largest American distiller and spirit importers. Frank joined Schenley after his marriage and rose to the company presidency, but was forced out in a family dispute in 1970. In 1973 his wife died and he started his own company, Sidney Frank Importing Company, where he served as chairman and chief executive officer. The company is based in New Rochelle, New York where Frank lived (he had a home in Rancho Santa Fe, California as well). Frank's first big success with his own company was with Jacques Cardin brandy, a brand he purchased from Seagram in 1979. In the 1980s, he obtained importing rights to Jägermeister and promoted it heavily, advertising it as the best drink in the world, turning a specialty brand into a mainstream success.

In 1997, he developed Grey Goose vodka, made in France by François Thibault,[3] and was so successful in promoting it that he sold the brand to Bacardi for $2 billion in June 2004. In the last years of his life, Frank bought the Travel Savvy and Business Traveler magazine titles for $4 million. Frank gave large bonuses to his employees and made both a $12 million donation to The Norwich Free Academy and a $120 million donation to Brown University in 2005, the ninth-largest philanthropic gift in that year. business for sale picton ontarioForbes magazine ranked him the 185th richest man in America in its Forbes 400 list. business for sale boholIn October 2005, Frank donated £500,000 and a statue by sculptor Stephen Kettle to Bletchley Park Trust to fund a new Science Center dedicated to Alan Turing[5] and, as a great supporter of R. J. Mitchell's Spitfire, commissioned a life size statue of Mitchell as well as funding a website dedicated to Mitchell's life: RJ Mitchell. business for sale picton ontario

A life in aviation. His foundation has been one of the biggest supporters of the Israel Olympic Committee and has helped to pay for improvements in several Israeli sports. Frank died January 10, 2006 on a private plane in flight between San Diego, California and Vancouver, British Columbia at the age of 86 from heart failure. He was declared dead in San Francisco, California. On his plane were several nurses and medical doctors as well as a defibrillator, but he could not be revived.[7] He is buried in the Rosenstiel family plot at United Jewish Cemeteries in Cincinnati. His daughter Cathy Frank Halstead is currently chairwoman of Sidney Frank Importing Company. She is also an artist and a co-founder of the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. Cathy Frank figured prominently in a highly publicized case regarding her grandfather's will that led to the disbarment of the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. In 1975, Cohn entered the hospital room of a dying and comatose Rosenstiel, forced a pen to his hand and lifted it to the will in an attempt to make himself and Cathy Frank beneficiaries.

The resulting marks were determined in court to be indecipherable and in no way a valid signature. In 1986 Cohn was disbarred for unethical and unprofessional conduct in the case, as well as misappropriation of clients' funds and lying on a bar application. Sidney Frank, and his son Matthew Frank, also sued the Rosenstiel estate, each in a separate action. ^ Daily Beast: "The Jews Who Made American Whisky" by Noah Rothbaum December 19, 2015The Davis family of Rollin' Rock Angus in Sidney, Montana is arguably one of the most influential families to the Angus breed from both a leadership and cattle breeding perspective. The contributions to the industry are hardly enumerable, as you begin to count the boards of directors served, awards won, and outreach made to fellow Angus breeders to better our breed. Bill and his late father Dale are known for their captivating personalities, they are known to light up a room with both humor and extensive knowledge of the breed and industry.

As put by Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus Ranch, "Bill has an eternal optimism for the Angus breed." I think all who have met Bill and the Davis family can attest to the outgoing spirit and enthusiasm they bring to the breed. It was 1956 in Belgrade, Montana when this legendary ranch was first conceived by Mr. Dale and Betty Davis. Performance testing of cattle was a new concept and they embraced it entirely, making in-herd selections of cattle with economically important heritable traits. Cattle were sold privately until 1971, when the first Rollin' Rock production sale started. In 1977, Bill and Jennifer Davis purchased Rollin' Rock Angus, and in 1993 moved the ranch headquarters to Sidney, Montana. Rollin' Rock Angus focuses on producing cattle that are rugged, durable, and can handle the terrain of Montana as well as possessing the versatility to adapt to all parts of the country. Calving 600+ cows a year, they are the "Program with a Purpose", and they have been steadfast in maintaining that purpose over the past 58 years.

In 2005 they were awarded the Certified Angus Beef Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award. Not only has Rollin' Rock been a consistent supplier of bulls for the commercial cattlemen, they have bred breed-influencing sires and foundation females for decades. The first claim to fame for Rollin' Rock Angus was the purchase of the Rito N Bar bull from the N Bar Ranch of Grass Range, Montana. Born in March of 1960, Rito N Bar went on to sire the influential RR Rito 707 in 1967. In 1983, Eriskay of Rollin Rock 3302 was born, becoming a cornerstone foundation female in the Rollin Rock herd. As a two-year old, she calved the influential RR Traveler 5204 bull in the spring of 1985, sired by QAS Traveler 23-4. A paternal brother to Traveler 5204, the breed-altering DHD Traveler 6807 bull would be born a year later in 1986. It was in that same year that the RR Hero 6267 bull would be born at Rollin' Rock Angus. RR Hero 6267, would become a staple in the pedigree for other herd sires, and stud-quality bulls including his son Hero 6267 of RR 2418, who would then go on to sire the breed altering sire at the turn of the century, HA Imagemaker 0415.

Other influential sires bred out of the performance-oriented Rollin' Rock herd include PAPA Forte 1921, PAPA Equator 2928, PAPA Universe 515, RR Scotch Cap 9440 and RR Scotch Cap 9440 1483. The Davis family also played a crucial role in the development of the Performance Breeders Bull Sale. Started in 1988, the founding members include Dale Davis of PAPA Angus, Bill & Jennifer Davis of Rollin' Rock Angus, Dave & Yvonne Hinman of Hinman Angus and John Hamilton of Cedar Hills Angus. For over a decade, the Performance Breeders Bull Sale was one of the leading Angus sales in Montana, and the sale continued with Rollin' Rock and Hinman Angus until 2008. Leading bulls in the Angus breed were sold through these sales as well as bulls that met the needs of commercial cattlemen across Montana, Nebraska, North & South Dakota and across the country. Many of these bulls were in major A.I. studs leading the breed in maternal, weaning, performance and carcass traits. Behind all good cattle, however, are great cattlemen and stewards of the land.

The Davis family is no exception. Dale Davis had a penchant for performance in his cattle, and that is a legacy you still find today at Rollin Rock. Dale was an active member and former president of the Montana Beef Performance Association, as well as a member of the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 1973 to 1979. It was during his tenure on the Board, that the Association published its first Angus Sire Evaluation Report, established Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR) as the basis of national cattle evaluation, established estimated breeding values (EBVs) for maternal traits and launched the Pathfinder Program. Bill, following in the footsteps of his father, also served as the President of the Montana Beef Producers Association. He served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors for 8 years, serving as President in 2010. The father/son outlook for progressively moving the Angus breed can best be summed up from a quote in the Angus Journal in 2011:

As Dale, who died in 2005, voted to continue the CAB program at a critical juncture in 1977, "not in his wildest dreams" would he have anticipated that Bill would serve as chairman of that same organization as the program — now an LLC with a $17 million budget — celebrated reaching annual sales of 775 million lb." The Angus breed owes a lot to the steadfast Davis family of Sidney, Montana. They have provided superior genetics, business oriented customer service and leadership roles in the Angus industry over the past 50 years. While they breed their cattle with the mantra "Program with a Purpose", I tend to find their true purpose as a patron and servant to our breed, as much as a superior cattle rancher and breeder. An exciting new business partnership has been formed that will continue to advance the genetic tradition of Rollin' Rock Angus established over 50 years ago by Dale and Bill Davis. Raymond & Sons, Inc. and Botts Angus Ranch have joined Bill & Jennifer Davis in ownership of the Rollin' Rock Angus Program establishing "Rollin' Rock Angus Genetic Partners".