Isadore sharp
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Isadore "Issy" Sharp is a Canadian hotelier and founder/chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. After graduating from Ryerson University with an architectural degree, he worked for his father's real estate development company. He founded Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 after gaining experience building a small motel. In 2006, Four Seasons was taken private for $3.4 billion, with Sharp remaining as chairman/CEO. He and his wife are prominent philanthropists in Canada.
Isadore sharp
- 2. Isadore "Issy" Sharp, OC (born October 8, 1931) is a Canadian hotelier. He is founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In 1952, he graduated from Ryerson University with a diploma in Architectural Technology.
- 3. After graduation, Sharp went to work for his father’s company full-time as an architect and real estate developer, building apartment buildings and houses. It was his work building a small 22-unit motel on the outskirts of Toronto for family friend, Jack Gould, that was his introduction to the hospitality business. He founded the Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 and opened the first hotel on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto in 1961. On November 6, 2006, Bill Gates, through his holding company Cascade Investments LLC, and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal made an offer to take Four Seasons Hotels private for US$3.4 billion (excluding debt). Sharp would remain chairman and chief executive of the company. He also would be able to realize proceeds from a 1989 incentive plan that would pay him $288 million. The company's headquarters would remain in Toronto.
- 4. He and his wife Rosalie are prominent Canadian philanthropists, having made significant donations to many sources including the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Ontario College of Art and Design, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2009, Sharp summarized his experience and business philosophy in a bookFour Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy, published by Viking Canada.