Donald E. Graham

His parents were Katharine Graham (née Meyer), later a publisher of The Washington Post, and her husband, Philip Graham. His maternal grandmother was Agnes Meyer. His maternal grandfather, Eugene Meyer, bought the bankrupt Post shortly after stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in mid-1933. Graham's mother Katherine Meyer was baptized as Lutheran as a child, as her mother was Lutheran. Her father was Jewish. Katherine (Meyer) Graham later attended an Episcopal church. His father Philip Graham was also raised as a Lutheran.

Graham graduated from the private St. Albans School. He attended Harvard College. In 1965, he was elected president of The Harvard Crimson, the college's daily newspaper.

After graduation in 1966, Graham volunteered for military service. He served in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968, as part of the United States Army 1st Cavalry Division. From January 1969 to June 1970, Graham joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia as a patrolman.

In 1967, Graham married Mary Wissler. Wissler earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard-Radcliffe, where they met, and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center, focusing on such issues as health and safety regulations. In 2007, the couple announced that they were separating. They have four children.

On June 30, 2012, Graham married Amanda Bennett, the former CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media under Joe Biden. She formerly edited The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Lexington Herald-Leader, was the former director of Voice of America, and former executive editor at Bloomberg News. She was in charge of a global team of investigative reporters and editors.

His daughter Laura is married to Tim O'Shaughnessy, former CEO of LivingSocial. He is current president of Graham Holdings Company.