The life of Leon Hess is a classic American success story. Born and reared in Asbury Park, NJ, he was an Army Transportation Corps officer with Patton’s Army in Europe during World War II. Capitalizing on that experience, he honed extraordinary entrepreneurial instincts, envisioning and shaping the Hess Corporation into one of America’s great oil companies. Today his son, John, carries on his father’s leadership as CEO of the Hess Corporation.
Leon Hess’ philanthropic nature and his involvement in American contemporary issues are well recognized. Mr. Hess and his wife, Norma, reared an unusually successful family and instilled it with the same model sense of civic responsibility. Hess family philanthropy continues and can be seen across New York City at several universities, along the Jersey Shore, and at the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ.
Any recognition of Leon Hess would be incomplete if it failed to comment on his success in the National Football League and his transformation of the New York Titans football team into the exciting New York Jets. At the Jersey Shore, Monmouth Park Race Track flourished and grew to prominence under his financial and public leadership.