Rose Blumkin

Early life and education

Rose Blumkin was born Rosa Gorelick on December 3, 1893, to a Jewish family in the Russian Empire. Wikipedia places her birth in Shchedrin, a village near Babruysk in present-day Belarus, while obituaries and news reports describe a village near Minsk. Her father, Solomon, was a rabbi and her mother, Chasya, ran a grocery store. She was one of eight children and began working in her mother's store as a child. She married Isadore Blumkin in 1913, and he left for the United States ahead of her. Sources give her own arrival as 1916 or 1917. By most accounts she crossed Siberia by train, got past a border guard into China, and sailed by way of Japan to Seattle. The couple lived in Fort Dodge, Iowa, before moving to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1919, where they ran a used clothing store.

Career

In 1937, at 44, Blumkin opened Nebraska Furniture Mart in the basement of her husband's store in Omaha with $500. Several accounts say the money was borrowed from her brother. She sold below the prices of established dealers, and the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame records that manufacturers and banks at first refused to deal with her. Her husband died in 1950. Her son Louie and later her grandsons Ron and Irv worked in the business with her. In 1983 the family sold a majority stake to Berkshire Hathaway. Reports differ on the terms. Warren Buffett's 1984 shareholder letter describes buying 90 percent with a check for $55 million, without an audit. Other sources give $60 million, and a later Buffett letter refers to 80 percent. Blumkin stayed on as chairman and ran the carpet operation. In 1989, at 95, she left after what Buffett called a managerial disagreement and opened a competing store next door, known as Mrs. B's Warehouse or Mrs. B's Clearance and Factory Outlet. The 1983 sale had not included a non-compete agreement. Her store became the third largest carpet outlet in Omaha. In 1992 she sold her building and land to Nebraska Furniture Mart, kept running her carpet business at the same location, and this time signed a non-compete agreement. Buffett wrote that she turned 100 on December 3, 1993, and that at 103 she was still working.

Legacy and death

Blumkin died in Omaha on August 9, 1998, aged 104. More than 1,000 people attended her funeral, according to J Weekly. She received honorary degrees from New York University and Creighton University, and she is listed in the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame. She gave $1 million to a Jewish nursing home in 1981, and the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center carries her name. Buffett wrote about her repeatedly in his letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders between 1983 and 1996. In the 1984 letter he summarized her approach in her own words: sell cheap and tell the truth. The accounts of her life agree on the outline but differ on several details, including her birthplace, the year she reached the United States, and the terms of the 1983 sale.

Notable quotes

References

Their voice on summon.guide is grounded in:

• Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman's Letter to Shareholders (1983)
• Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman's Letter to Shareholders (1984)
• Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman's Letter to Shareholders (1993)
• United Press International, Rose Blumkin, 'exemplar of the American Dream' (1984)
• J Weekly, Mrs. B, Cornhusker state's best-known Jew, 104 (1998)

Further reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Blumkin