Benjamin Bronfman

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Benjamin Bronfman
Ben Bronfman.jpg
Bronfman in 2023
Born
Benjamin Zachary Bronfman

(1982-08-06) August 6, 1982 (age 41)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)Businessman, musician
Partner
(m. 20082012)
Children1
Parent
Relatives John Langeloth Loeb Sr. (great-grandfather)
Samuel Bronfman (great-grandfather)
Edgar Miles Bronfman (grandfather)
Hannah Bronfman (sister)

Benjamin Zachary Bronfman (born August 6, 1982) is an American businessman and musician. [1] Bronfman is a founding partner and board member of Global Thermostat, a direct air capture company that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Benjamin Zachary Bronfman was born on August 6, 1982 in New York City to African American actress Sherry Brewer Bronfman and Edgar Bronfman Jr., former chief executive officer of Warner Music Group. He has two sisters, Hannah and Vanessa. [4]

Bronfman lived in London briefly when his father was managing director of Seagram Distilleries Europe. The family returned to New York in 1984 after his father became president of Seagram's US marketing division. [5]

Bronfman attended Collegiate High School in New York City, graduating in 2000.[ citation needed ] He enrolled in Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied politics and law.[ citation needed ]

Environment and technology

Bronfman at TEDx Brooklyn on November 13, 2010 presenting Global Thermostat vision and process Benjamin Bronfman at TEDxBrooklyn.jpg
Bronfman at TEDx Brooklyn on November 13, 2010 presenting Global Thermostat vision and process

In 2007, Bronfman became interested in direct carbon dioxide removal from the Earth's atmosphere, teamed up with Columbia University economist Graciela Chichilnisky and founded Global Thermostat, where he is a founding partner and a director. [6] Global Thermostat completed the construction of its first pilot plant at The Stanford Research Institute in November 2010. [7] In the year 2018, Bronfman founded DGH, an investment firm for the medical cannabis industry which invested in Bedrocan International. He then contributed as a member of the board of directors from 2018 - 2023 at Bedrocan International., a pharmaceutically focused medical cannabis API supply company in Europe.[ citation needed ]

Music

Bronfman performing with The Exit in 2004 Ben Brewer in performance with The Exit (2004).jpg
Bronfman performing with The Exit in 2004

A music enthusiast since his childhood, Bronfman met Gunnar Olsen in high school and both performed in various bands. One of those bands became an early incarnation of The Exit in 2000 when Bronfman met Jeff DaRosa while attending Emerson College in Boston. The Exit is a critically acclaimed, New York City-based Indie / Post-Punk / Reggae group released two albums.[ citation needed ]

Bronfman received a Grammy nomination for Best rap song for his collaborative contribution to Kanye West's single "New Slaves" featured on the album Yeezus . [8] He co-produced the track "Monster" which was included on Kanye West's Grammy Award-winning album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy .

Bronfman is the founder of Green Owl, which claims to be the world's first sustainability-focused record label. [9]

Albums
YearAlbumTrack List
2002New Beat
  1. Worthless
  2. Lonely Man's wallet
  3. Sit and wait
  4. Scream and shout
  5. Trapped
  6. Find me
  7. Still waiting
  8. When I'm Free
  9. Defacto
  10. Question the Chorus
  11. Watertown
2004Home for an Island
  1. Don't Push
  2. Let's go down the Haiti
  3. Back to the Rebels
  4. Home for an Island
  5. Pressure cooker
  6. Tell me all again
  7. The sun will rise in Queens
  8. Soldier
  9. Warm summer days
  10. Darlin
  11. So leave then
  12. Alredy gone
EPs
YearTitle
2004Sing four favorites
2006The live session EP (iTunes exclusive release)
Music video
YearTitleDirected by
2002Lonely Man's walletMajor Lightner
2004Let's go to HaitiMajor Lightner
2005Don't pushTerry Timley
2005SoldierLightner
2006Back to the RebelsLightner and Javier Hernandez

Personal life

Bronfman met British rapper M.I.A. in 2008. They became engaged and M.I.A. gave birth to their son on February 13, 2009. [10] In February 2012, it was announced that the two had separated. [11]

Non-profit work and activism

Since 2010, Bronfman has engaged in cannabis advocacy efforts aimed at promoting legislative changes to grant patients access to cannabis. [12]

He has served on the boards of the following non-profit organizations: Pioneer Works, Liberty Science Center, Americans for Safe Access, and 15 Percent Pledge.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide</span> Chemical compound with formula CO₂

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CO2. It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature, and as the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, and seawater. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms carbonate and mainly bicarbonate, which causes ocean acidification as atmospheric CO2 levels increase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seagram</span> Former Canadian multinational conglomerate

The Seagram Company Ltd. was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was in the 1990s the largest owner of alcoholic beverage lines in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seagram Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe along with Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Robert Allan Jacobs, the high-rise tower is 515 feet (157 m) tall with 38 stories. The International Style building, completed in 1958, initially served as the headquarters of the Seagram Company, a Canadian distiller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Bronfman Sr.</span> Canadian-American businessman (1929–2013)

Edgar Miles Bronfman was a Canadian-American businessman. He worked for his family's distilled beverage firm, Seagram, eventually becoming president, treasurer and CEO. As president of the World Jewish Congress, Bronfman is especially remembered for initiating diplomacy with the Soviet Union, which resulted in legitimizing the Hebrew language in the USSR, and contributed to Soviet Jews being legally able to practice their religion, as well as immigrate to Israel.

Charles Bronfman, is a Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist and is a member of the Canadian Jewish Bronfman family. With an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion in 2023, Bronfman was ranked by Forbes as the 1,217th wealthiest person in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Bronfman Jr.</span> American businessman

Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. is an American businessman, filmmaker, theater producer, and media executive who is a managing partner at Accretive LLC, a private equity firm focused on creating and investing in technology companies. He previously was CEO of Warner Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and as Chairman of Warner Music Group from 2011 to 2012. In May 2011, the sale of WMG was announced; Bronfman would continue as CEO in the transaction. In August 2011, he became Chairman of the company as Stephen Cooper became CEO. Bronfman previously was CEO of Seagram and vice-chairman of Vivendi Universal. Bronfman Jr. expanded and later divested ownership of the Seagram Company, and also worked as a Broadway and film producer, and songwriter under the pseudonyms Junior Miles and Sam Roman. He is chairman of FuboTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Bronfman</span> Canadian businessman (1891–1971)

Samuel Bronfman, was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and member of the Canadian Bronfman family. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited and purchased the Seagram Company, that became the world’s largest liquor distilling firm.

The Bronfman family is a Canadian family, known for its extensive business holdings. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), the most influential Canadian Jew of the mid-20th century, who made a fortune in the alcoholic distilled beverage business during American prohibition, including the sale of liquor through organized crime, through founding the Seagram Company, and who later became president of the Canadian Jewish Congress (1939–62).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Lambert</span> Canadian philanthropist and member of the Bronfman family

Phyllis Barbara Lambert is a Canadian architect, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplo</span> American DJ and music producer (born 1978)

Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD, with Sia and Labrinth; a member of electronic duo Jack Ü, with producer and DJ Skrillex; and a member of Silk City, with Mark Ronson. He founded the record company Mad Decent in 2006, as well as the non-profit organization Heaps Decent the following year. His 2013 extended play (EP), Revolution, debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200. The EP's title track was later featured in a commercial for Hyundai and is featured on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Earth Challenge</span> Competition for permanent removal of greenhouse gases

The Virgin Earth Challenge was a competition offering a $25 million prize for whoever could demonstrate a commercially viable design which results in the permanent removal of greenhouse gases out of the Earth's atmosphere to contribute materially in global warming avoidance. The prize was conceived by Richard Branson, and was announced in London on 9 February 2007 by Branson and former US Vice President Al Gore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teqkilla</span> 2010 single by M.I.A.

"Teqkilla" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her third studio album, Maya (2010). The track was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Rusko, Switch, John Hill and Cherry Byron-Withers. Production of the song was handled by M.I.A., Rusko, Switch and Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graciela Chichilnisky</span> Argentine-American economist (born 1946)

Graciela Chichilnisky is an Argentine-American economist known for her work in economics and climate change. A professor of economics and statistics at Columbia University and visiting professor to Stanford University, her economic research is marked by the application of mathematics and topology, as well as research in international and development economics. She is also co-founder of the direct-air capture company Global Thermostat, and served as its CEO from its founding in 2010 until she stepped down in 2022.

Stephen E. Herbits is an American businessman, former consultant to several Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Defense, advisor to the Edgar M. Bronfman family, executive vice president and corporate officer of the Seagram Company, advisor to the President's Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets, and secretary general of the World Jewish Congress. He was the youngest person to be appointed commissioner on the Gates Commission. Herbits' career has specialized in "fixing" institutions – governmental, business, and not-for-profit – with strategic planning and management consulting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare Bronfman</span> American heiress

Clare Webb Bronfman is an American heiress, convicted felon and former leader of NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and cult based near Albany, New York. She is the youngest daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram liquor chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr. After a brief equestrian career, Bronfman began involvement in NXIVM, a business engaged in criminal activities during 1998–2018, which led to indictments on federal charges, including sex trafficking.

Hannah Marcina Bronfman is an American angel investor and social media influencer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canopy Growth</span> Canadian medical marijuana company

Canopy Growth Corporation, formerly Tweed Marijuana Inc., is a cannabis company based in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Cemp Investments was the primary holding company and investment vehicle for, and named after, the four children of Samuel Bronfman: Charles Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman, Aileen "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzburg, and Phyllis Lambert, also known as the Montreal branch of the Bronfman family. Cemp became one of the largest privately owned companies in Canada. At its peak, it controlled tens of billions in dollars of assets in major distilling, commercial real estate development, oil and gas, and entertainment companies across North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct air capture</span> Method of carbon capture from carbon dioxide in air

Direct air capture (DAC) is the use of chemical or physical processes to extract carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. If the extracted CO2 is then sequestered in safe long-term storage, the overall process will achieve carbon dioxide removal and be a "negative emissions technology" (NET).

Climeworks AG is a Swiss company specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology. The company filters CO2 directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process. At its first commercial direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, in Hellisheidi, Iceland, the air-captured CO2 is handed over to storage partner Carbfix, who injects it deep underground where it mineralizes and turns into stone. Climeworks's machines are powered by renewable energy or energy-from-waste, with a carbon dioxide re-emission rate of less than 10%.

References

  1. "56th Annual Grammy awards". www.grammy.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. Thermostat, Global. "Global Thermostat unveils one of the world's largest units for removing carbon dioxide directly from air". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  3. Trendafilova, Petya (April 5, 2023). "Global Thermostat Unveils Its Demonstration Direct Air Capture Plant". Carbon Herald. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  4. Ogunnaike, Lola (July 15, 2011). "Ebony: Meet The Black Bronfmans". SandraRose.com. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  5. "Seagram Company Ltd". www.britannica.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  6. "About | Global Thermostat". www.globalthermostat.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  7. "Can a 'Global Thermostat' Turn Climate Change Around? | GreenBiz". www.greenbiz.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  8. "Grammy nominations 2014: The top nominees". galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com. December 6, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  9. "Green Beat: The First Eco-friendly Record Label". Vanity Fair. April 8, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  10. Pompeo, Joe. "The Bed-Stuy Bronfman", The New York Observer , November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  11. https://www.globalthermostat.com/about
  12. Mallinson, Daniel J. (April 11, 2020). "Policy and Political Learning: The Development of Medical Marijuana Policies in the States". Publius. 50 (3): 344–369. doi: 10.1093/publius/pjaa006 .