George Gund II (April 13, 1888 – November 15, 1966) was an American banker, business executive, and real estate investor who lived in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
He inherited his father's fortune and used a portion of it to purchase alien property seized during World War I.
He sold this business at significant profit, and invested widely in banking, insurance, and real estate.
[3] The family emigrated to the United States in 1848 and settled in Illinois, but in 1854 moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin.
[7] But when World War I broke out, he enlisted in the United States Army and served in the Military Intelligence Division.
[8] After the start of prohibition in the United States in 1920, Gund was forced to close his father's brewery in Cleveland.
[4] But during the war, Kaffee HAG, a German corporation, was stripped of its assets in the United States.
[11] In 1937, Gund was elected a director of the Cleveland Trust Company (a savings bank established in 1896),[5] and was named president in 1941.
[27] At Gund's death in November 1966, his estate was worth about $24.5 million ($230,700,000 in 2023 dollars) after the payment of debts and fees.
[32] George Gund purchased a large cattle ranch in Nevada,[11] and had a deep affection for the Old West.
[2] Gund purchased a large home in Beachwood, a wealthy suburb of Cleveland,[11] and the couple had six children: George III, Agnes, Gordon, Graham, Geoffrey, and Louise.
His personal effects, such as art, automobiles, books, clothing, jewelry, and pictures, were bequeathed to his children, however.
An award-winning architect[40] and noted art collector,[41] he has designed numerous important buildings and residences, including the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, D.C., and overseen numerous redevelopment projects, such as the refurbishment of historic Faneuil Hall.
[44] Louise Gund is a Tony Award-winning theater producer, environmentalist, women's activist, and philanthropist.