His parents were refugees of Hitler's Europe, which likely influenced his views on totalitarian government and fueled his support of Zionism and outspoken hatred of communism.
He was the key to securing Rudy Giuliani's endorsement by the New York Post, despite Rupert Murdoch's initial intent to support the Conservative Party candidate George Marlin.
Michael Wolff in his book The Man Who Owns The News: Inside The Secret World Of Rupert Murdoch, claims Breindel, who died of liver failure, having suffered from health problems throughout adulthood, had AIDS, though he provides no sources to confirm this.
[date missing] His funeral featured eulogies by such notable figures as New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Governor George Pataki, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Senator Al D'Amato, Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Norman Podhoretz, Andrew Cuomo, former New York City mayor Ed Koch and Martin Peretz.
[10][11] In 1988, Spy magazine ran a feature that depicted Breindel as a ruthlessly career-driven opportunist whose career was effectively ended by his drug bust.