Joseph Saul Gruss (Hebrew: יוסף גרוס March 19, 1903 – July 3, 1993)[1] was an Austro-Hungarian Empire–born American financier, businessman, and philanthropist who supported Jewish education.
[2] Joseph Saul Gruss was born on March 19, 1903, to a Jewish family in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire as one of seven children.
[1] His father, Isaac, was a Talmudic scholar and banker; his mother belonged to a family involved in the export grain business.
[2] In 1942, he founded the Wall Street firm Gruss & Company,[3][4] which focused on mergers and arbitrage primarily in the oil and gas industries.
Thereafter, he engaged in oil and gas exploration and development primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and West Virginia.