Walter Hubert Annenberg KSG KBE (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat.

Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of The Philadelphia Inquirer, TV Guide, the Daily Racing Form and Seventeen magazine.

During his tenure as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, he developed a close friendship with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.

After initial perceived missteps,[2] he came to be admired for his dedicated work ethic, his wife's lavish entertaining, and personal gifts to support patriotic British causes, such as the restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

At Sunnylands, his 220-acre (89 ha) estate near Palm Springs, California, he entertained royalty, presidents and other celebrities; it is now a museum and retreat center dedicated to furthering the Annenbergs' legacies.

He was the only son of Sadie Cecelia (née Friedman; 1879–1965) and Moses Annenberg, who published the Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1936.

Annenberg, who was the biggest individual stockholder of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wanted to see the merger succeed (which it did) and he was frustrated with Shapp's opposition.

The next day, a five-column front page Inquirer headline read, "Shapp Denies Mental Institution Stay".

[13][16] At a time when Annenberg was seeking appointment as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, a TV Guide "special editorial" of April 14, 1969, suddenly reversed what had been the publication's support of the Smothers Brothers in the duo's content fight with their network, CBS.

Annenberg received the ambassadorship from President Richard Nixon, who at the time was a frequent target of Smothers Brothers on-air barbs and was pressing for more control over television network content.

In 1969, under pressure after the Shapp controversy, Annenberg sold The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, which he bought in 1957, to Knight Newspapers for $55 million.

His Sunnylands winter estate in Rancho Mirage, California (near Palm Springs), hosted gatherings with such people as President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Charles, Prince of Wales, and the family of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

President Ronald Reagan named Leonore Annenberg the State Department's Chief of Protocol in early 1981.

In the mid-1980s, he established the Annenberg Fellowship to Eton College, a one-year fellowship for one US graduating college senior (chosen from a rotating list of US universities including Duke, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale, and others) to spend a year teaching and serving as a cultural ambassador to the famous British boys' school.

Bernice was raised in a Jewish family in Canada, the daughter of Canadian businessman David Dunkelman who was known for mass-producing low-cost suits and selling them at a single price of $14 at his chain of 65 retail stores.

[44] He was survived by his wife, Leonore (February 20, 1918 – March 12, 2009); his daughter, Wallis; and two sisters, Enid A. Haupt and Evelyn Hall.