Earle M. Jorgensen, the steel-distribution entrepreneur and the last surviving member of Gov. Ronald Reagan's "kitchen cabinet," died in mid-August at his Los Angeles home. The Brea, Calif.-based company that Jorgensen founded in 1921, now called EMJ Co., grew to sales of more than $1 billion a year, and he remained active in the business until just days before his death at 101. "I can't stop working," Jorgensen told Purchasing after heart bypass surgery in 1995. "I might not get started again."
Jorgensen and his second wife, Marion, were among the social elite of Los Angeles. The couple remained close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for more than 40 years. Jorgensen was among a small group of Reagan advisers who urged the former movie star to run for governor, and then for the presidency. On the night of each of his major elections, Reagan attended a dinner at Jorgensen's home as he awaited the results. As governor, Reagan appointed Jorgensen to the State College Board of Trustees.
Jorgensen was born in San Francisco in 1898, the son of a Danish sea captain. His father died when Jorgensen was 13, forcing him to work to support his family and to finish high school at night. When he returned home from World War I, where he served in the U.S. Army Tank Corps, he moved to Los Angeles. He took advantage of the Southern California oil boom, combing shipyards for scraps of steel and aluminum to sell to oil drillers below the cost of newly milled steel.
The business grew from a single rented desk into Earle M. Jorgensen Co. in 1921, and eventually became one of the country's largest independently owned steel and aluminum distributors. This year, EMJ ranked No. 11 in Purchasing's Top 100 Metal Service Centers.
A son by Jorgensen's first marriage, John, died in 1989 at the age of 64. He had run day-to-day operations of the steel company, and his father decided to take over the company reins again at age 91. In 1990, Jorgensen sold his company, with 28 plants in 24 cities nationwide, to a group backed by leveraged buyout specialists Kelso & Co. Jorgensen retained the title chairman emeritus. He wouldn't say what he received in the $264 million dollar purchase, but he had owned 32% of the company stock--worth about $84 million--and retained 13.5% for a Jorgensen family trust. (bio by: Earl Abbe)
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Jorgensen and his second wife, Marion, were among the social elite of Los Angeles. The couple remained close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for more than 40 years. Jorgensen was among a small group of Reagan advisers who urged the former movie star to run for governor, and then for the presidency. On the night of each of his major elections, Reagan attended a dinner at Jorgensen's home as he awaited the results. As governor, Reagan appointed Jorgensen to the State College Board of Trustees.
Jorgensen was born in San Francisco in 1898, the son of a Danish sea captain. His father died when Jorgensen was 13, forcing him to work to support his family and to finish high school at night. When he returned home from World War I, where he served in the U.S. Army Tank Corps, he moved to Los Angeles. He took advantage of the Southern California oil boom, combing shipyards for scraps of steel and aluminum to sell to oil drillers below the cost of newly milled steel.
The business grew from a single rented desk into Earle M. Jorgensen Co. in 1921, and eventually became one of the country's largest independently owned steel and aluminum distributors. This year, EMJ ranked No. 11 in Purchasing's Top 100 Metal Service Centers.
A son by Jorgensen's first marriage, John, died in 1989 at the age of 64. He had run day-to-day operations of the steel company, and his father decided to take over the company reins again at age 91. In 1990, Jorgensen sold his company, with 28 plants in 24 cities nationwide, to a group backed by leveraged buyout specialists Kelso & Co. Jorgensen retained the title chairman emeritus. He wouldn't say what he received in the $264 million dollar purchase, but he had owned 32% of the company stock--worth about $84 million--and retained 13.5% for a Jorgensen family trust. (bio by: Earl Abbe)
[Edit Bio]
Earle M. Jorgensen, the steel-distribution entrepreneur and the last surviving member of Gov. Ronald Reagan's "kitchen cabinet," died in mid-August at his Los Angeles home. The Brea, Calif.-based company that Jorgensen founded in 1921, now called EMJ Co., grew to sales of more than $1 billion a year, and he remained active in the business until just days before his death at 101. "I can't stop working," Jorgensen told Purchasing after heart bypass surgery in 1995. "I might not get started again."
Jorgensen and his second wife, Marion, were among the social elite of Los Angeles. The couple remained close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for more than 40 years. Jorgensen was among a small group of Reagan advisers who urged the former movie star to run for governor, and then for the presidency. On the night of each of his major elections, Reagan attended a dinner at Jorgensen's home as he awaited the results. As governor, Reagan appointed Jorgensen to the State College Board of Trustees.
Jorgensen was born in San Francisco in 1898, the son of a Danish sea captain. His father died when Jorgensen was 13, forcing him to work to support his family and to finish high school at night. When he returned home from World War I, where he served in the U.S. Army Tank Corps, he moved to Los Angeles. He took advantage of the Southern California oil boom, combing shipyards for scraps of steel and aluminum to sell to oil drillers below the cost of newly milled steel.
The business grew from a single rented desk into Earle M. Jorgensen Co. in 1921, and eventually became one of the country's largest independently owned steel and aluminum distributors. This year, EMJ ranked No. 11 in Purchasing's Top 100 Metal Service Centers.
A son by Jorgensen's first marriage, John, died in 1989 at the age of 64. He had run day-to-day operations of the steel company, and his father decided to take over the company reins again at age 91. In 1990, Jorgensen sold his company, with 28 plants in 24 cities nationwide, to a group backed by leveraged buyout specialists Kelso & Co. Jorgensen retained the title chairman emeritus. He wouldn't say what he received in the $264 million dollar purchase, but he had owned 32% of the company stock--worth about $84 million--and retained 13.5% for a Jorgensen family trust. (bio by: Earl Abbe)
[Edit Bio]
Jorgensen and his second wife, Marion, were among the social elite of Los Angeles. The couple remained close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for more than 40 years. Jorgensen was among a small group of Reagan advisers who urged the former movie star to run for governor, and then for the presidency. On the night of each of his major elections, Reagan attended a dinner at Jorgensen's home as he awaited the results. As governor, Reagan appointed Jorgensen to the State College Board of Trustees.
Jorgensen was born in San Francisco in 1898, the son of a Danish sea captain. His father died when Jorgensen was 13, forcing him to work to support his family and to finish high school at night. When he returned home from World War I, where he served in the U.S. Army Tank Corps, he moved to Los Angeles. He took advantage of the Southern California oil boom, combing shipyards for scraps of steel and aluminum to sell to oil drillers below the cost of newly milled steel.
The business grew from a single rented desk into Earle M. Jorgensen Co. in 1921, and eventually became one of the country's largest independently owned steel and aluminum distributors. This year, EMJ ranked No. 11 in Purchasing's Top 100 Metal Service Centers.
A son by Jorgensen's first marriage, John, died in 1989 at the age of 64. He had run day-to-day operations of the steel company, and his father decided to take over the company reins again at age 91. In 1990, Jorgensen sold his company, with 28 plants in 24 cities nationwide, to a group backed by leveraged buyout specialists Kelso & Co. Jorgensen retained the title chairman emeritus. He wouldn't say what he received in the $264 million dollar purchase, but he had owned 32% of the company stock--worth about $84 million--and retained 13.5% for a Jorgensen family trust. (bio by: Earl Abbe)
[Edit Bio]
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