William S. Paley

William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States. He was awarded the Carlos Manuel de Cespedes National Order of Merit by the Cuban government in recognition of his efforts to foster greater understanding between the peoples of Cuba and the United States of America. Early life Paley was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Goldie (Drell) and Samuel Paley. His family was Jewish, and his father was an immigrant from Ukraine who ran a cigar company. As the company became increasingly successful, Paley became a millionaire, and moved his family to Philadelphia in the early 1920s. William Paley matriculated at Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois but later transferred to, and recorded his degree from, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Theta chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He was expecting to take an increasingly active role running the family cigar business upon graduation. In 1927, Samuel Paley, Leon Levy (who was married to Paley's sister, Blanche), and some business partners bought a struggling Philadelphia-based radio network of 16 stations called the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System. Samuel Paley's intention was to use his acquisition as an advertising medium for promoting the family's cigar business, which included the La Palina brand. Within a year, under William's leadership, cigar sales had more than doubled, and, in 1928, the Paley family secured majority ownership of the network from their partners. Within a decade, William S. Paley had expanded the network to 114 affiliate stations. Broadcasting pioneer