H.F. Lenfest, former media mogul, philanthropist, dies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who made a $1 billion fortune in the cable industry and gave almost all of it away, supporting schools, museums, journalism and the arts in Philadelphia and beyond, died Sunday, a family spokesman said.
Gerry Lenfest was 88. He was taken Sunday from his Rittenhouse Square home to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead of complications from chronic illness, said Fred Stein. Stein will handle a memorial service planned in Philadelphia in September.
Lenfest and his wife, Marguerite, made about $1.2 billion when they sold Suburban Cable to Comcast Corp. in 2000. The Lenfests immediately set out to give away the fortune.