Wouldn’t this be a cool legacy? Imagine, when you died, to honor your life, the company you created ceased to exist. If this were true, today, a whole bunch of high school seniors would be straight out of luck. Or you would buy stock in the Princeton Review.
Sadly, this past Sunday, Stanley Kaplan, founder of the Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Centers, died at the age of 90. Personally, I never used Kaplan or Princeton because I’m Canadian and the schools I applied to didn’t require any standardized tests. But I can only imagine the effect Mr. Kaplan has had on kids getting into the colleges of their choice.
Stanley Kaplan reminds me a lot of Bill Davidson, the now deceased owner of the Detroit Pistons. It would have been enough for these men to just be happy with the success their lives have had. But both of them decided to give back to the Jewish community.
Here is just a snippet of the Jewish organizations Kaplan donated to: Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, the UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Family and Children Services, the Boston Jewish Film Festival, Ben-Gurion University, the biblical theatrical group Storahtelling.
I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Kaplan led a meaningful life.
