Joseph Gurwin (June 13, 1920 – September 24, 2009) was a Lithuanian-born American textile executive who became a philanthropist who contributed to Jewish causes in the United States and Israel.
Gurwin arrived in the U.S. with little in his pocket, built his fortune manufacturing specialized textiles for the United States armed forces, gave much of his money to charity and then lost significant sums that had been invested with Bernard Madoff.
[1] His younger brother, Chaim, was the family's lone survivor, but he was caught behind the Iron Curtain after the end of World War II,[1] and the two did not meet for 52 years until they were reunited in Tel Aviv in 1988.
[2] He created Kings Point Industries in 1959, and became wealthy through his firm, which manufactured ballistic vests, Gas mask hoods and parachute equipment.
[2] At a meeting in Palm Beach in early 2009 of prominent community members who had lost much to Madoff, Gurwin made an impassioned appeal that "no matter what happened to us, we still have to support those who are less fortunate than ourselves".