Slim-Fast Founder and Peace Philanthropist S. Daniel Abraham Passes Away at 100

At the age of 100, S. Daniel Abraham, the modest but powerful businessman who founded Slim-Fast, one of the most well-known weight-loss companies in America, passed away. His passing, which was made public by Yeshiva University, where he was an honorary trustee, brings an end to a century-long existence that was both improbable and significant.

Abraham helped create modern diet culture by making a fortune selling powdered drinks and appetite suppressants, even though he was never the public face of Slim-Fast. He would later utilize his enormous fortune to support political causes and peace initiatives in the Middle East, becoming a significant Democratic donor and founding the Center for Middle East Peace in Washington.

However, S. Daniel Abraham's story is not merely one of achievement; it is a tale that navigates Israeli kibbutzim, wartime foxholes, multibillion-dollar boardrooms, and the political backrooms of the United States.

From Gas Tabs to International Notoriety

He was brought up in an Orthodox Jewish home after being born Saul Daniel Abraham in Long Beach, New York, on August 15, 1924. Abraham returned to civilian life with the restless energy of a man who had seen too much to settle for too little after serving as an Army infantryman during World War II, an event that plagued him for the rest of his life.

He had a modest early career. He sold anti-itch creams and Gas Tabs door-to-door, an unglamorous business that planted the seeds of ambition. Abraham used family money to buy Thompson Medical Co., a pharmaceutical company in western Pennsylvania that was failing and earning only $5,000 annually at the time, in 1947.

That risk was profitable. Abraham turned Thompson into a titan of the diet industry over the course of the following thirty years. Slim-Mint gum was introduced first, followed by the contentious over-the-counter diet medication Dexatrim, which contains phenylpropanolamine.With 200 calories per serving, strong protein and vitamin content, and yes, sugar, the powdered shakes quickly became a diet mainstay in America. Slim-Fast soared thanks to relentless marketing and astute celebrity endorsements, such as Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who joyously declared he could "even eat pasta." The brand was more than simply a product; it was incorporated into American slang.

Abraham sold Slim-Fast to Unilever in 2000 for an incredible $2.3 billion.

From tremors to leadership

Abraham turned to the two causes that moved him, Middle East peace and democratic politics, now that his financial future was certain. He gave millions to political action groups, including Priorities USA, which supported Hillary Clinton's campaign for president in 2016. A close friend of Bill Clinton, who wrote the preface to Abraham's 2006 book Peace Is Possible, he rose to prominence in international policy discussions, albeit in a more supporting role.

Abraham established the Center for Middle East Peace and promoted a two-state solution while residing in Israel during the stormy 1970s, including the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He once told the Sun-Sentinel, "I witnessed my friends being slain." "War's atrocities are unimaginable." It is not the solution to issues.

He invested heavily in educational institutions, creating a global studies center at Tel Aviv University, supporting a business school at Bar-Ilan University, and endowing chairs in Middle East studies at Princeton University. His mother, who lived to reach 102, is honored with the name of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in New York.

Complexities and Controversies

Abraham's life was turbulent, even in his old years. His longtime executive assistant, Beth Sugerman, accused him of sexual harassment in 2023 when he was 99 years old. Inappropriate touching and sexual solicitations were stated in the Manhattan complaint, some of which were allegedly made in front of well-known people including Henry Kissinger and Ed Koch. Abraham filed a motion to dismiss and refuted the accusations. The case is still pending resolution.

Additionally, he and his ex-wife, Estanne, and her second husband were embroiled in a heated estate dispute for years. In 2016, the dispute over authority over a billion-dollar trust meant for four of Abraham's daughters was finally resolved out of court.

A Difficult Legacy

Abraham might easily be reduced to a few headlines: peace activist, political donor, and rich diet tycoon. But he fought simplicity throughout his century-long existence.

He was a salesman who had been wounded in battle. A businessman who fought against governmental monitoring and helped legitimize diet culture. A Zionist who supported the idea of a Palestinian state. A family man plagued by controversies and legal issues. And a steadfast supporter of what he once referred to as "the potential of better" throughout it all.

Ultimately, S. Daniel Abraham's legacy is completely, indisputably human—it is neither perfect nor forgotten.