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Jeffrey Hart Brotman (September 27, 1942 – August 1, 2017) was an American businessman, investor, lawyer, and philanthropist. Brotman was the cofounder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Jeffrey Brotman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jeffrey Hart Brotman September 27, 1942 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | August 1, 2017 (aged 74) Medina, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | University of Washington (BA, JD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Cofounder and chairman of Costco |
| Spouse |
Susan Thrailkill (m. 1976) |
| Children | 2 |
Brotman was born in a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman.[1][2][3] His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from the Kingdom of Romania, now Romania, to Saskatchewan; his parents immigrated to the US and settled in Tacoma.[1][3] His father was an owner of Seattle Knitting Mills. Along with his uncles, he owned a chain of 18 retail stores in Washington and Oregon named Bernie's.[2][4]
In 1965, the family moved to Seattle.[2] Brotman graduated from the University of Washington in 1964 with a degree in political science and in 1967 with a J.D.[2] He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Washington.[5]
After college and law school, he and his brother, Michael, founded a women's jeans store named Bottoms; and in the 1980s, they founded the Jeffrey Michael chain of men's clothing stores, which they operated into the 1990s.[2]
In 1982, Brotman cofounded Costco Wholesale Corporation with Jim Sinegal,[6] a protégé of Sol Price, the founder of PriceSmart.[1] He served as chairman from the company's inception until his death, except during a stretch from 1993 to 1994 when he was vice chairman.[7][8] In 2017, Costco operated 736 warehouse stores.[3]
Brotman was also an early investor in Howard Schultz's Starbucks Corporation.[3]
Brotman served on the boards of several public companies and[9] according to Businessweek magazine, was "connected to 13 board members".[10][11] He sat on the board of directors of the Million-Dollar Roundtable at the United Way of King County.[12] He also served on the boards of Seafirst Bank, Starbucks, and was a trustee at the Seattle Art Museum.[13] He and his wife Susan donated to numerous causes, especially at the University of Washington, where they funded hundreds of student scholarships. They also endowed the Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professorship at UW Law School, currently held by Steve Calandrillo.
Brotman married Susan Thrailkill, a Montana native and a former retail executive who served on the board of Nordstrom. They had two children, Justin Brotman, who became an activist and businessman,[14][15] and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt. She is a Barnard College graduate who is a businessman working in sustainability, philanthropy, and design.[1][16][17][18]
On August 1, 2017, Brotman died in Medina, Washington at the age of 74.[19][7] He died in his sleep, possibly due to heart failure.[20] He was a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma.[3]
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