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Adam Weitsman

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Adam Weitsman
Born
Adam Joel Weitsman

Owego, New York, U.S.
Alma materOwego Free Academy
Long Island University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Spouse
Kim Weitsman
​
(m. 2006)​
Children3[1]
AwardsPlatts Industry Leadership Award
AMM Scrap Company of the Year Award
WebsiteOfficial website

Adam Joel Weitsman is an American entrepreneur. He is the owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, a scrap metal processing company headquartered in Owego, New York.

Early life

Weitsman was born and raised in Owego, New York.[2] He developed an interest in art collecting early in life after his father and grandfather discovered two early American stoneware bottles during an excavation project in their scrap yard in 1980.[3] Weitsman began collecting the 19th-century stoneware and owned 60 pieces by 1982.[2]

In 1986, Weitsman graduated from Owego Free Academy. Weitsman majored in banking at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville.[2] In 1989, Weitsman worked at a Manhattan art gallery, Hirschl & Adler Folk, and opened the American Folk Art Gallery in Greenwich Village in 1991.[2][4] In 1995, Weitsman became vice president of Ben Weitsman & Son, a scrap processing company owned by his family before eventually purchasing it from his father.[2]

Career

After losing his sister to cancer in the early 1990s, Weitsman quit a career in New York City and returned to his hometown to the family scrap metal business. Here, he built up an interest in the processing side of scrap metal recycling, which led to the foundation of Upstate Shredding.[5] In 1997, Weitsman opened Upstate Shredding at the Tioga County Industrial Park in Owego.[6][4][7] Weitman was sentenced for check kiting in 2004, paid a $1 million fine and served 8 months in prison.[8] In 2005, Weitsman acquired Upstate Shredding's sister company, Ben Weitsman & Son, Inc., after his father retired[6] and acquired an 11-acre scrapyard in Solvay, New York from Peter Matlow in December 2009.[9] Between 2012 and 2016, Weitsman acquired a scrap yard in New Castle, Pennsylvania,[7] a port facility in Albany,[6] and Empire Recycling in Watertown, New York.[10] By the end of 2016, they were collectively known as Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling.[6][11] That year, Weitsman won the Platts Industry Leadership Award and the AMM Scrap Company of the Year award for the second year in a row.[12][13] He was awarded Scrap Company of the Year by American Metal Market in 2015 and 2016.[14]

Weitsman and his wife, Kim Weitsman, have invested in real estate in Skaneateles, New York.

In 2010, Kim purchased the Krebs restaurant, which was founded in 1899.[15] The restaurant re-opened in the summer of 2014.[11] Weitsman has supported local philanthropic efforts through personal funding and this restaurant.[15] In 2015, Weitsman and his wife donated the restaurant's profits to 16 regional nonprofit organizations.[16][17] In 2018, Weitsman began construction on a Mexican restaurant, Elephant and the Dove, in addition to development of a sushi bar in Owego.[18][19] The restaurant opened on April 11, 2019.[20][21] In 2021, Weitsman announced a collaboration with Rise N Shine restaurant owner, Danielle Mecuri, for a new Italian restaurant in East Syracuse.[22]

In 2021, he started Viridium LLC,[23] a cryptocurrency mining company.[24][25] As of 2022, he is a billionaire.[26]

Weitsman is involved philanthropically. He has a collection of 19th-century American stoneware which he has been donating to the New York State Museum in Albany since 1998.[3] In 2019, Weitsman donated $100,000 for the renovation and expansion of the Rescue Mission's Clarence L. Jordan Food Service and Culinary Education Center.[27] In 2019, Weitsman donated $10,000 to Vera House, a non-profit tackling domestic and sexual violence abuse in Central New York.[28] In 2020, Weitsman offered a college campus he acquired to any federal, state, or local government agency to set up a base camp to help find a cure for the Coronavirus.[29]

Weitsman is one of the biggest boosters of Syracuse University's athletic programs, especially the men's basketball and the football teams.[30][31][32] He is a long-time friend of basketball coach Jim Boeheim.[30][33] In 2021, Weitsman offered to pay $1,000,000 to local charities, following the win of the basketball team, Boeheim's Army.[34][35] In September 2022, Weitsman announced that he will offer $1 million per year in Name, Image and Likeness deal to one five-star football player and one five-star basketball player to represent his companies, with a hope that athlete will find Syracuse to be a desirous destination.[36][37][38] He also had additional NIL deals in progress with current Syracuse players.[39]

Personal life

Weitsman met his wife, Kim Weitsman (then Kim DeFrance) in the summer of 2000.[4] In 2004, DeFrance left her modeling career to work alongside Weitsman as an operations manager for Upstate Shredding.[4][40] They married in June 2006 in Skaneateles[4] and have three children.[1][41]

References

  1. ^ a b "Scrap industry CEO funds charity food service facility renovations". Recycling Today.
  2. ^ a b c d e Louie, Elaine (March 16, 1995). "HOUSE PROUD; A Studio Breathes, Idea by Idea by Idea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Kahn, Eve M. (September 9, 2010). "Adam Weitsman New York Stoneware Collection, at Home in Albany". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "From scrap to Skaneateles: Adam Weitsman's lifetime mission to salvage a reputation". syracuse.com. November 21, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  5. ^ "Transforming A Personal Brand After Hardship: A Case Study With Adam Weitsman – NewsOpener". News Opener. November 25, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Metal-shredding scrap company growing in region, across N.Y." The Daily Gazette. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Recycler lands in New Castle, takes on nation's largest scrap processors". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Grondahl, Paul (June 14, 2014). "Scrap metal mogul donates world-class art collection to State Museum". Times Union. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  9. ^ syracuse.com (April 30, 2018). "A beautiful scrapyard? Weitsman starts $5M makeover of Geddes 'eyesore'". syracuse.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  10. ^ "Owego company buys Pearl Street scrap metal facility". The Daily News. February 7, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  11. ^ a b syracuse.com (January 24, 2015). "Scrap king Adam Weitsman buys stake in biggest competitor". syracuse.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling receives Platts Global Metal Award". Recycling Today. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  13. ^ "Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling receives 'AMM' Scrap Company of the Year award". Recycling Today. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  14. ^ "Scrap Company of the Year (Large): Fastmarkets AMM". American Metal Market. May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  15. ^ a b NYup.com (February 4, 2012). "Krebs owner plans to reopen landmark Skaneateles restaurant by end of summer". syracuse.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  16. ^ Monfiletto, Jonathan (January 30, 2015). "'Part of that pledge': The Krebs in Skaneateles donates $20,000 to four area organizations". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved February 4, 2019. (subscription required)
  17. ^ Malone, Christopher (August 22, 2015). "Weitsmans pay it forward by donating Krebs restaurant proceeds to 12 local organizations". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  18. ^ syracuse.com (May 31, 2018). "Construction underway on Adam Weitsman's new Skaneateles restaurant". syracuse.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  19. ^ Joseph, Bob (October 18, 2018). "Adam Weitsman Planning a Sushi Bar for Owego". WNBF News Radio 1290.
  20. ^ "Elephant & The Dove". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  21. ^ david.wilcox@lee.net, David Wilcox (April 7, 2019). "Elephant and the Dove: Inside the new Mexican restaurant in Skaneateles". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "New Italian restaurant with zany, 'craveable' dishes coming to East Syracuse". syracuse. July 1, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "Elevator Studio and Adam Weitsman Form Investment Partnership to Purchase Metaverse Land for Business Development".
  24. ^ Joseph, Bob (December 20, 2021). "First Look as Adam Weitsman Sets Up Owego Crypto Mining Farm". WNBF. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Goldmacher, Shane; Lipton, Eric (February 12, 2022). "Selling Trump: A Profitable Post-Presidency Like No Other". The New York Times.
  26. ^ Brandt, Libertina (March 17, 2022). "Billionaire Entrepreneur Adam Weitsman Buys a $23.5 Million South Florida Penthouse He Saw on Instagram". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  27. ^ "Adam Weitsman donates $100K to charity to celebrate horse's win". syracuse. August 7, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  28. ^ "Vera House is the Recipient of a $10,000 Donation from Local Businessman Adam Weitsman". Vera House (Press release). November 18, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "Coronavirus threat: Adam Weitsman offers former Davis College campus as health center". Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  30. ^ a b Carlson, Chris (March 13, 2019). "How Adam Weitsman became Syracuse's most visible fan". Syracuse Post-Standard. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  31. ^ Edelman, KJ (January 16, 2019). "Adam Weitsman and his $150,000 bet to Syracuse basketball". The Daily Orange. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  32. ^ Hubbs (January 8, 2020). "Adam Weitsman Is the Most Mysterious/Interesting Man In America". Barstool Sports. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  33. ^ Edelman, KJ (February 21, 2019). "Friend of Jim Boeheim details hours after Wednesday crash". The Daily Orange. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  34. ^ "Adam Weitsman Gives Back To CNY In Major Way". WSYR. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  35. ^ "Adam Weitsman starts giving away $1 million to charities for Boeheim's Army's win. Here's how to apply". syracuse. August 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  36. ^ "Syracuse booster offering $1M NIL deals to represent his companies". Sports Business Journal. September 20, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  37. ^ Callaway, Cathy (October 6, 2022). "Adam Weitsman finds redemption in giving". Spectrum News 1 Central New York. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  38. ^ Stack, Dan (January 28, 2023). "Elijah Moore chooses Syracuse, Adam Weitsman". The NIL Deal. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  39. ^ Adler, Neil (January 14, 2023). "Syracuse Orange: Adam Weitsman has more than $1M in NIL with players". Inside the Loud House. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  40. ^ "Look Inside This Renovated Upstate New York Lakeside Getaway". Architectural Digest. November 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  41. ^ "How Adam Weitsman became Syracuse's most visible fan". syracuse.com. March 13, 2019.
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