Arthur B. Belfer (May 30, 1907 – May 2, 1993) was a Polish-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Belco Petroleum Corporation.
Biography
Belfer was born to a Jewish family in Wodzisław, Poland.[1] He worked as a dealer in feathers and down in Kraków.[2] In 1939, at the age of 33, he arrived on a business trip in the United States four days after the Nazi invasion of Poland and soon found out that all his money had no value.[2] Convincing a New York investor to purchase feathers, he established the Belfer Corporation which manufactured down sleeping bags for the U.S. Army.[2]
In 1953, the Belfer Corporation expanded into foam rubber and the petroleum.[2]