[1] He was born on June 24, 1930, to Bill Ziff Sr., a Jewish American publishing executive and author, and his second wife, Amelia Mary Morton.

[1][4] By focusing on enthusiast and trade publications, Ziff's salesmen were able to directly target advertisers who wanted to market to a specific audience.

[7] She was the daughter of the German industrialist Berthold Beitz and his wife Elsa, who were recognized by Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) as "Righteous among the Nations", for being the rare example among ethnic Germans by providing refuge and risking their lives to save Jews during World War II.

His sons are principals of Ziff Brothers Investments, in Manhattan and Greenwich, Connecticut; they were named on the 2012 Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, with an aggregate net worth of approximately $12.6 billion.

[10] Ziff later married future Metropolitan Opera chair Tamsen Ann Kojis, daughter of Dr. Ferdinand Kojis[11] and Harriet Henderson (also known as noted opera soprano Harriet Henders who performed with famed conductors Arturo Toscanini and George Szell).