Joseph H. Kanter
A successful businessman and philanthropist, Joseph H. Kanter is a longtime supporter of efforts to improve public health. In 1964, Mr. Kanter established the Joseph H. Kanter Foundation to advance health care research, educational institutions and other charitable endeavors. The foundation is credited with creating the National Fitness and Jogging Center on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; co-founding the Health Legacy Partnership (HELP) with the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to develop a National Health Outcomes Database; and providing the funding for the Kanter Family Foundation to help reform the healthcare system.
Kanter was born November 15, 1923 in Tarrant, Alabama. He attended the University of Alabama and Georgetown University. During World War II, he was in the infantry, landed on Omaha Beach and fought through France, Holland, and Germany.
In addition to philanthropy, Mr. Kanter started four new businesses:
1) Apartment development and ownership – recognized as one of the top five largest in the United States.
2) New Towns – The Real Estate and Research Corporation stated he was the largest viable new town builder in the world.
3) Financial – Owner of Savings and Loans, Commercial Banks, and Investment Banks.
4) Movie producer – At the age of 70 received two Academy Award nominations.
His success in using the free enterprise system to build four different companies convinced him that the characteristics used to build the greatest industrial empire in the world could be used to improve the health care system.
After his father’s death while overseas, Mr. Kanter returned to his native Alabama, ran the family general store, and began to build one of the nation’s largest apartment construction and community development companies, with projects in Alabama, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Florida and other states. His six “New Town” developments included Greenbelt, MD, adjacent to Washington, D.C. and Lauderhill, Florida, west of Fort Lauderdale.
Kanter became a major landholder (20,000 acres) in Southeast Florida and ultimately settled in Miami. He was Chairman and owner of National Bank of Florida, Guarantee Savings and Loan in San Francisco, Keystone Savings in Cincinnati, and one of the original partners in the Oppenheimer and Co. investment bank.
Kanter also is Chairman of Kanter Productions and was the producer of the movie “Ironweed”, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. The film received two Academy Award nominations and was recognized as one of the 10 Best Pictures of 1988.
Kanter’s entrepreneurial savvy and civic voluntarism has earned him special recognition. In 1958, Esquire Magazine named him one of 54: “Bright Young Men Science, Politics, Arts, and Business.” In 1962, he won the State of Israel Award for Leadership for starting the Young Leadership Cabinet and was the youngest National Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal. In 1984, he was awarded an honorary master’s degree from The George Washington University. Also, he was President and Chairman of the National Conference on Citizenship, a non-partisan public foundation chartered by Congress that promotes civic participation and civil dialogue, succeeding Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark.
Kanter married Nancy Reed in 1953. They have four children: Harry, Hillary, Mary Ellen and John. The Kanters live in Miami Beach, FL and maintain a second home in Los Angeles, CA.
