What is Ivan Wilzig's net worth?
Ivan Wilzig is an American singer-songwriter and philanthropist who has a net worth of $100 million dollars. Also known as "Sir Ivan the Peaceman", he is also a notable and eccentric philanthropist who has appeared on a number of US reality shows.
Family History
Ivan Wilzig was born in Newark, New Jersey on January 6, 1956. His father, Siegbert "Siggi" Wilzig was a Holocaust survivor who lost 59 family members, including his father, mother, brother and grandparents, in three years at the hands of the Nazis. After being rescued by American soldiers, Siggi spent three years assisting The Office of Strategic Services in tracking down Nazi guards. He immigrated to America in 1947, penniless and weighing just 90 pounds.
Siggi married Naomi Sisselman in 1953. They went on to have three children; sons Ivan and Alvin and daughter Sherry. Siggi took a small amount of money borrowed from his in-laws and bought inexpensive oil and gas stocks. One of his best investments was a company called The Wilshire Oil Company of Texas. His stake in the company grew large enough for him to be elected to the company's board in 1965 and then Chairman, President and CEO before he was 40. Through Wilshire, Siggi acquired the majority of a commercial bank called The Trust Company of New Jersey. He then became Chairman and President of this company as well. He grew the bank's assets from $200 million to over $4 billion between 1971 and the early 2000s thanks in large part to contributions from his sons Ivan and Alan. The bank was acquired by North Fork Bank for $726 million in 2003. Today it is part of Capital One.
Ivan's Early Life
Raised in Clifton, New Jersey, Ivan began singing lessons when he was in elementary school. He sang in various music groups and performed in musicals and at country clubs during the summer, but his parents discouraged his musical aspirations. He went on to earn a degree in European Intellectual History from the University of Pennsylvania, and then earned his law degree from Yeshiva University. He began his professional career working for his father at The Trust Company of New Jersey. Working together, Ivan and Siggi expanded The Trust Company into 50 mini bank branches in supermarkets and A&Ps across New Jersey. Ivan spent 20 years working at the company, mostly in a PR and marketing role.
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In 2001, he recorded a club track version of John Lennon's "Imagine" that went on to sell over 100,000 copies. He was suddenly a successful recording artist. A follow-up single titled "San Francisco" hit #7 on the Billboard Singles Chart. Since then, he has released multiple Top 10 Dance hits and albums.
He is also the founder and director of The Peaceman Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people combat hatred, violence, and PTSD.
Real Estate
In 1995, Ivan paid $550,000 for an undeveloped 5-acre lot in the town of Water Mill, in the Hamptons. In the late 1990s he built a 20 room 15,000 square-foot mansion on the property. He calls his home "The Castle", partly because it is built and decorated in medieval style:
(Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Sir Ivan)
The home is somewhat opulent with features like 24-Karat gold paint on the tennis court, seven waterfalls, eight car garage, two spas, fully equipped gym, a nightclub and drawbridge. Each room is themed differently from Asian to Roman and Bali.
