Haas was born to a Jewish family[1] in Reckendorf, Bavaria, one of nine children including brothers Charles A.
[2] He immigrated to New York at the age of 15 with his brothers where they peddled notions saving money to travel West.
[2] The panic subsided and Kalman is widely credited with calming a moment that could have been disastrous; and both the Hellman and Haas families reaped the benefits of their efforts once the economy was restored.
[3] Haas served as a director of the Mutual Alliance Trust Company.
[5] Haas Brothers exists today as one of the largest liquor distributors on the West Coast.