Isaac Perlmutter — BrandWiki

Isaac Perlmutter

Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter (born December 1, 1942) is an Israeli-American billionaire[1] businessman and financier. Through a variety of sometimes unorthodox business deals, he has been an influential investor in a number of corporations, including Revco drug stores, Coleco Entertainment, Remington, and Toy Biz/Marvel Toys. He is the former chairman and CEO of Marvel Entertainment.[2][3] He has a political relationship with Donald Trump,[4] and acted as an unofficial advisor in his presidential administration, overseeing the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Early life

Isaac Perlmutter was born to a

Career

Revco

With a new partner, Bernard Marden, and leveraging the skills he attained as a wholesaler, he formed a company called Odd Lot Trading, a wholesaler and retailer of closeout items. In May 1984, they sold Odd Lot to Revco Discount Drug Stores in exchange for 12% of Revco stock. He soon challenged Revco management for control of the company but, after initial positive feedback, was rejected. Perlmutter and his partner threatened a hostile takeover but eventually refrained and sold their share back to Revco for $120 million.[7]

Coleco

Perlmutter had a close relationship with the management of toy manufacturer Coleco Entertainment Corporation as he had been purchasing unsold inventory from them for some time. As is typical in the industry, payment terms were often unusual. With Coleco, Perlmutter would purchase unsold inventory in exchange for 50% cash and 50% in "barter advertising credits" (basically a promise to pay for the future advertising expenses of Coleco). Over a four-year period, Perlmutter had received $144 million in goods and paid $73 million in cash along with providing $71 million in barter advertising credits to be paid in the future.[7]

In 1988, he saw an opportunity as Coleco struggled under its debt due to the advent of the personal computer which impacted the sale of video games. Perlmutter bought all of Coleco's senior debt (with $85 million in face value) for $50 million, a substantial discount, becoming senior to their bondholders in the event of a bankruptcy. Although Perlmutter believed that a Coleco bankruptcy was probable, he also believed that the value of the Coleco's assets should be sufficient to cover the full $85 million in value that he had purchased. In July 1988, Coleco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[7] The bondholders, suspicious over Perlmutter's close relationship with Coleco's management, sued Perlmutter alleging fraudulent conveyance over the barter advertising credits (which made up a very significant item on Coleco's balance sheet). After extensive negotiation, a settlement was reached whereby Coleco would be sold to Hasbro Corporation for $85 million and Perlmutter would accept $64 million for his now $90 million claim (principal plus interest) in exchange for the withdrawal of the lawsuit.[7]

Remington

In 1994, Victor Kiam sold controlling interest of Remington Products to Isaac Perlmutter. Perlmutter became Vice President of Remington.[3] Kiam and Perlmutter sold Remington to Vestar Capital Partners in 1996.[8]

Marvel

Isaac Perlmutter was a member of the board of directors of Marvel Comics beginning in April 1993 and was chairman of the board until March 1995.[2]

Isaac Perlmutter was co-owner with Avi Arad of Toy Biz (later Marvel Toys), after purchasing its predecessor company from Charan Industries in January 1990.[2] Toy Biz was reorganized in the Marvel deal, with Perlmutter continuing to own the original Toy Biz as a holding company named Zib, which held its foreign sales affiliate Toy Biz International and Perlmutter's share of the new Toy Biz.[9]

When the Marvel Group went bankrupt in 1996, protracted legal battles over control of the company followed between Perlmutter, Arad, Carl Icahn, and Ronald Perelman

Political involvement

In 2015, Laura Perlmutter donated $2 million to a super-PAC supporting the presidential candidacy of Sen. Marco Rubio.[26]

In January 2016, according to Donald Trump, Isaac intended to donate $1 million to the presidential candidate's wounded veterans initiative at Drake University.[27]

On June 30, 2016, Laura Perlmutter donated $449,400 to a PAC supporting Donald Trump, and later was part of Trump's Inauguration committee.[28]

In 2019, Ike and Laura Perlmutter donated roughly $360,000 to the "Trump Victory Joint Fundraising Committee."[29][30] In total, they contributed $1.9million to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[31] In 2024, Issac and Linda Perlmutter donated $10 million to the newly formed Right for America super-PAC led by Sergio Gor in support of the Trump campaign.[32]

In 2025, the Laura and Issac Purlmutter Foundation was one of the donors who funded the White House's East Wing demolition, and planned building of a ballroom.[33]

Leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs

In April 2017, Perlmutter was categorized by The New York Times as one of the "Clubgoers" among twenty people whom President Trump consults "outside the White House gates". He "has been informally advising ... on veterans issues [and] ... has been a presence" at Mar-a-Lago, according to the account.[34]

In August 2018 non-profit news organization ProPublica reported that Trump had informally authorized three members of his Mar-a-Lago club to direct policy at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and issue instructions to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Peter O'Rourke. Perlmutter was named among the three, collectively known as the Mar-a-Lago Crowd.[35] The author of the article obtained "hundreds of documents" through the Freedom of Information Act that show the three were in daily contact with the agency, "reviewing all manner of policy and personnel decisions" and that "they prodded the VA to start new programs, and officials travelled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense to hear their views."[35] VA staffers have claimed that the three men got control over the department as "

native name	יצחק פרלמוטר
birth date	December 1, 1942
birth place	Mandatory Palestine
native name lang	he
occupation	Investor
spouse	Laura Perlmutter

Isaac Perlmutter

Early life

Career

Revco

Coleco

Remington

Marvel

Philanthropy

Political involvement

Leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Personal life

Companies

See also

External links

References