She was sold in 1984 to be converted to a barge, but never came through. Open until 8:00 PM. On Jan. 30, 1998, he was elected a vice president and was appointed director of the LincolnMercury Diviiion. Henry II's only son, Edsel II, was on a much faster track as general sales manager of Ford's Lincoln-Mercury division. The company's proxy statement of 1pri11978 reflected his ownership of more than 31,900 share of common stock; more than 1.8 million shares of Class B stock, which controls 90 percent of the voting power on the company board and is limited in ownership to members of the family, and more than 17,500 shares of limited common stock in Ford Motor Company of Canada. Though Lincoln-Mercury opted not to mass produce the Lincoln Futura, the sensational unique car would make Benson Ford famous, as he drove the car on the streets of New York City for curious crowds lining the streets in wonder, brought the car to auto shows across the United States, and appeared in newsreels promoting the new invention. He also worked for religious tolerance and in 1951 was named Protestant national co-chair of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He had also put Fords Japanese partner, Mazda Motor Corporation, back on a solid footing while serving as its CEO in the late 1990s. Rumors circulated that Fields might take another job, perhaps in another industry. It just looked fast. Ford also distributed some 500,000 copies of The International Jew across America and, with more lethal effect, published it in Europe, as well. Any Alphas that fall short of such rigid expectations are often reviled and shunned. Rafael Barba & Olivia Benson (12) Olivia Benson & Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. (12) Amanda Rollins & Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (12) Exclude Additional Tags Friendship (28) Fluff (21) Angst (19) Established . The canyon is now so deep and wide, its over. Fields and his wife, who met while both worked at IBM, have two sons. DETROIT Automobile heir Benson Ford Jr. has described, in sworn testimony, his involvement in the early 1980s in a ''team'' that he believed was prepared to kill anyone who tried to block his attempt to get on the Ford Motor Co. board of directors. He emerged quickly as Mulallys heir apparent. 2 auto manufacturer, and of William Clay. Benson Ford Shiphouse. [4], Benson Ford was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Eleanor Clay Ford and Edsel Ford on July 20, 1919. [4] The Fords enjoyed boating and owned several boats, including a succession of yachts named Onika. And things could also turn nasty in high-society circles. After living in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s and early 1980s and involving himself in a number of failed business ventures with his former therapist and mentor, Louis Fuentes, Benson returned to the Detroit area in 1984. On January 30, 1948, Benson was elected a vice president of the company and appointed the director of the newly formed Lincoln-Mercury Division, carrying on in his father's foot-steps. Shocking video shows the moment 19-year-old crashes his Ford Fiesta into a lorry after 100mph police chase - as he is spared jail. As his health declined Benson became Chairman of the Lincoln-Mercury (Fomoco) Dealer Policy Board. The Time cover is significant because it confirms the ongoing prominence, importance, influence, involvement, and equal significance of all three of Henry Ford's male grandchildren at Ford in the developmental future of the Ford Motor Company.[43]. Copyright 2023 The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. He headed an attempt to revive the original 12Cylinder Continental that was introduced by his father, Edsel Ford, in the 1940's. On July 9, 1991, he married Edith McNaughton, who had lived next door to the Ford family in Detroit and with whom he had attended kindergarten. A Ford spokesman noted that one reason some family members dont want to talk about Benson or other personal matters is that they have been upset by the embarrassing revelations about the Ford family described in Robert Laceys just released book, Ford: The Men and the Machine.. The founding Ford was known, in particular, for his leadership of The Dearborn Independent, a Michigan-based paper he bought in 1918 and proceeded to fill with rabid anti-Jewish invective, including a 91-part series later bound into a book under Fords name, called The International Jew. Forcefully distributed to Ford dealerships nationwide throughout the 1920s, Fords paper gained an unprecedented readership for anti-Semitism. 1 He married Lisa Vanderzee. Mark has been Alans partner every step of the way, Bill Ford explained at the press conference announcing his appointment. Then the U.S. government blindsided it, Tesla pauses rollout of driving software subject to U.S. recall. She was the daughter of Lynn McNaughton, a former vice president and general sales manager of the Cadillac Motor Car Company. ''Was your cousin, Edsel, one of those people?'' The company has a history of attracting talented young executives. Benson was lured to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series midway through the 2004 season and would find the type of success that he had long aspired for winning 14 races (all between 2006 and. It owns more than $2 billion in stock. See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs. [4], Mr. Ford received numerous citations for his contributions to religious and racial tolerance. In December 1943 Benson was stationed in San Francisco at the Fourth Air Force Headquarters. His widow, Edith McNaughton Ford, president and owner of the Key Largo Anglers Club in Key Largo, Florida, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Henry Ford Hospital for 36 years, died in a Detroit hospital after a long illness, reported to be cancer of the throat, on August 9, 1980, age 60, and is buried alongside Benson. Automotive Oral Histories. He was graduated from Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., in 1938. He received slightly . Fieldss own new salary as CEO was not immediately available. In 1966, the new Batman became one of the first television series produced in full color by William Dozier, with the Lincoln Futura driven by Batman actor Adam West, briefly making the Lincoln Futura Batmobile the most famous and recognizable car in the world, and making unknown Batman actor Adam West the best known television actor in the world because of the car he drove in bat costume, along with his front seat costumed masked sidekick Robin, unknown actor Burt Ward. He married and bought a home in suburban Grosse Pointe from his cousin Edsel Ford Jr., the only son of Henry II, and dropped all of his old lawsuits against the family. A fundraiser and fashion show was held at the Aston Martin of Troy dealership on April 28 to benefit the Francee & Benson Ford Breast Care and Wellness Center at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. He made $16.7 million in 2019, $13.9 million in 2018, and $15.6 million in 2017. In 1938, the Nazi regime awarded the automaker the Grand Cross of the German Eagle in recognition of this work. Benson later moved around to different departments. It was in his tenure at the LincolnMercury Division that one of the highlights of his career occurred. He also worked for religious tolerance and in 1951 was named Protestant national co-chair of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. However, research center staff members are still present, and are responding to mail, email and telephone research inquiries. William Clay Ford, Jr. was born on 3 May 1957 at Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. G. 1 He is the son of William Clay Ford and Martha Parke Firestone. Henry Ford II, who disliked his grandfather intensely, was the one who moved to make amends in the years after World War II. Scores of heirs collect more than $200 million annually in dividends from various trusts. The Firestone family sold out in 1988 to Japans tire giant Bridgestone for $2.5 billion cash, and put it into trust funds to support family members. "[21] The Mercury version was unique from the Ford and the sleek, rakish design was based on upscale Lincoln products. Just as Finkelman became Fields, however, the automaker founded by one of Americas most notorious anti-Semites has transformed itself over the decades. Motor Company, died early today of an apparent heart attack aboard his yacht, which was docked in the Cheboygan River in Michigan. The institution's first collections website only included 500 artifacts - the very first being a 1929 Ford Model A Coupe used by Henry Ford. Like her other fling with a. Mr. Ford had a history of illness, including at least two previous heart attacks. And we don`t want to comment on any private legal action that he`s taken.''. The price of the largely handmade car, which was marketed in the early 1950's, was around $10,000. Dte Energy Company. Summary: Photographs show Benson Ford and wife Edith on their yacht; posed by a Lincoln automobile. Im not sure aluminum bodies are appropriate for trucks, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne observed recently. At the same time, Benson also challenged his uncle Henry IIs control of the company and openly appealed to shareholders at the 1979 annual meeting to vote for him as a director. Service hours: 7:30am to 6:00pm. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Said Jeffrey Gurock, a professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University: I dont think Henry Ford would have dreamed of a day where a Jew would [be] the head of his motor company. Benson Ford Jr., 36, a great-grandson of Henry Ford I and nephew of Henry Ford II, is now working at the company for the first time. In 1961 Benson received the annual Knight of Charity Award presented by Maryglade College based on "unison in family life with person-to-person charity". Mr. Ford was separated from the Army, with the rank of captain, in February 1996. One more car to pass on the road ahead." Twitter. Thomas Mustin, a lawyer for Fuentes, said Benson Ford`s allegations are. Benson Ford Jr son . [24] Benson triggered a sensation with it at 1955 auto shows. Close associates of Mr. Ford said that his battles with illness were the principal reason for his decision not to play a major role in the company over the years. According to Carroll, Fieldss grandparents immigrated to America from Russia and Romania, and in America the family name, Finkelman, was changed to Fields. 35 years, from the brink of ruin to an admittedly precarious position in the late 1970s. Included in the book is a description of just how bizarre Bensons fight with his family became. His parents were members of a Conservative synagogue in Paramus, New Jersey, Carroll reported. A succession of postings followed in Los Angeles, Argentina, Japan and Europe. Her sister ship (and nearly identical), the Henry Ford II, was also finished in 1924 and was built by the American Shipbuilding Company of Lorain, OH. Ford sold nearly a million Mercurys in three years. Newsom, Musk dedicate former HP headquarters in Palo Alto to Tesla engineers, Adam Levine sues classic car dealer, alleging his 1971 Maserati isnt the real deal. He has entered an orientation program in Ford's. At the time of his death, his two brothers, Henry Ford 2d and William Clay Ford, were in London at the company's management review of Ford of Europe. Adolf Hitler and other Nazis hailed Ford for his stand, and the Nazi Party distributed his book in translation widely throughout Germany. The Detroit Free Press recently obtained a copy of the deposition. I intend to contribute to the growth (of Ford Motor Co.), he said after losing his bid for a board seat. Wedding gown of Lynn McNaughton Ford, daughter of Benson Ford, Sr., and Edith McNaughton Ford. They have also lived in Hartland, WI. Alternatively, many investors would make their stock decisions based on short-term earnings and rapid changes in the share price, a very different perspective. BBB File Opened: 4/13/1987. Activities included driving gasoline powered cars scaled to their size, camp outs, tree climbing, and tending to a half-acre farm created by Henry for their use. Her oldest brother, Henry Ford II, was chairman and CEO of Ford Motor from 1945 until his retirement in 1979. . He is credited with saving the company from complete ruin in the late 1940s, and in later life was sued for allegedly using Ford Motor Company to bankroll his hard-drinking, womanizing lifestyle. 1. 1 Energy Plaza. But for thosd who went to the Ford assembly plant here to pickup their car, there was the added attraction of it being presented to the.buyer by Mr. Ford, after which he would offer the new owner a drink. Both companies expect even bigger bills in coming months. Other observers say that five generations of family traditions are being wiped out in the battle shared memories of lavish society balls, births, weddings and funerals. To honor his dedication to the Edison Institute, his living children, Benson Ford Jr. and Lynn Ford Alandt, provided major financial support to establish the Benson Ford Research Center. The family has a pact that Class B shares put up for sale will first be offered to other family members. Benson Ford (1919-1978). During Benson's early days as an engineer at Ford, he helped build one of the company's first experimental jeeps, along with his brother, Henry Ford II. After her husband's death, Edith was living on Lake Shore in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. In his lawsuit, Benson Ford, 36, claims that Fuentes gained his confidence and trust, then gained control of his $10 million in Ford Motor Co. stock and other assets while meting out to him. All of Edsel's children were involved in the family business one way or the . [8][9] The fun continued on Ford Motor Company property. Martha is one of the Firestone familys more beloved members her image is as an unpretentious soccer mom who drove her kids to school and taught them to be self-reliant. Ford also began its NASCAR participation during Benson Ford's tenure with a mixture of Fords and Mercurys. When Ford was asked if, when he ''joined the team,'' he knew the team was prepared to kill in order to get him on the Ford board of directors, he said, ''That was the seriousness of it, yes. [41], Benson Ford's name also remains prominent today at renowned The Benson Ford Research Center at the famed Henry Ford Museum, also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan, as the research center is named after Benson Ford. Edsel had a wife named Eleanor Lowthian Clay, whom he married in 1916. Fields predecessor, Alan Mulally, relied heavily on a strategy that Fields drew up as a senior executive in 2005, when Fords big North American division was losing money. But then, in an earlier era, when the Fields family name was Finkelman and the name of the companys leader was Henry Ford, the odds would have been nil, or worse. '', To ''make the team,'' Ford said, he was required to ''be completely faithful . SOME observers fume that 44-year-old William Clay Jr. known to his associates as Bill is slapping his mother in the face by trashing the Firestone name, of which shes extremely proud. So, no matter who wins or loses Detroits unprecedented war of the wheels, the heirs trust-fund checks will keep coming, unaffected by the staggering losses expected on both sides of the corporate battle. Other Ford family members, including Edsel Jr., also declined to comment. Facebook. #129 Ford family on the 2015 America's Richest Families - More than 100 years after Henry Ford introduced his Model T and revolutionized automobile production, After the listening device was detected by the electronic surveillance equipment protecting the house of his uncle, William Clay Ford, Benson was pulled aside by Henry II and William Clay, and the bug was ripped off. Was in his tenure at the Fourth Air Force Headquarters the Cadillac car! 1984 to be converted to a barge, but never came through way, Bill explained! 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