Lester Crown (born June 7, 1925) is an American businessman and is the son of Chicago financier Henry Crown (died 1990), who created the Material Service Corporation with two brothers in 1919, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. Crown has been a perennial member of the Forbes 400 list since 1982. He controls family holdings, including large stakes in Maytag, Hilton Hotels, Alltel, Aspen Skiing Company, New York's Rockefeller Center, and pro basketball's Chicago Bulls. He also holds a 13% stake in the New York Yankees, an increase from 10% when he was an original limited partner with George Steinbrenner's investment group in 1973. Presumably, the large stake held in Bank One at the time of the 2003 Forbes 400 listing has converted to JPMorgan Chase stock and was derived from an interest in First Chicago Bank, which was enumerated in the 1998 Forbes 400 list as First Chicago NBD shares. Recent achievements include brokering a controversial agreement to expand O'Hare International Airport, and spearheading the funding of the new Cook County Hospital (Stroger Hospital). He is the chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago and Chicago Council on Global Affairs. His current hometown is Wilmette, Illinois. Education and career Crown received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University in 1946 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1949. He was President of Marblehead Lime Co as well as the president of Royal Crown RC Cola from 1956 to 1966. During the 1950s, the Crown family had a controlling interest in New York's Empire State Building. He has served as the president and chair of General Dynamics, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Maytag. He has been President of Henry Crown & Co. since 1969. He is a former director of Continental Illinois bank, Trans World Airlines, and Esmark. Affiliations Affiliations include: Trusteeship of Northwestern University, the Aspen Institute and the Michael Reese Health Trust. Crown is on the Board of Directors of Lyric Opera and Children's Memorial Hospital, and the America Abroad Media advisory board. He is a member of Lake Shore Country Club, Northmoor Country Club, Standard Club, Economic Club of Chicago, and Northwestern University's John Evans Club. He is a Deputy Chair of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and a member of the Tel Aviv University's Board of Governors. Crown is also involved with The Crown