Robert F. X. Sillerman

Sillerman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, and he was raised in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, the son of Estelle (Levande) and Michael McKinley Sillerman. His father founded the Keystone Radio Network. After graduating from the Collegiate School, he attended Brandeis University. By day he majored in political science, while by night in 1966 he launched Youth Market Consultants, offering fellow students discount magazine subscriptions while advising marketers on how to target the teen set. He sold the company in 1971, and he then launched I P+E, a sales marketing and promotion company. He sold the company in 1972 to the Boston ad firm, Ingalls. Sillerman was married to copywriter Laura Baudo, whom he met at Ingalls.

From 1993 Sillerman served as the Chancellor of the Southampton College of Long Island University, replacing Angier Biddle Duke. Sillerman took the job on two conditions: that the college scrap ill-defined programs and focus on marine science and creative writing and that he be allowed to handle publicity. In that spirit, he named Kermit the Frog as the 1996 commencement speaker: 31 newspapers picked up the story, a free marketing bonanza that raised the college's profile and drew hundreds of new admissions. In 2000, Sillerman donated a $15 million gift through the Tomorrow Foundation to extend the library and for marine science scholarships.

In 2008, Sillerman donated $10 million in order to fund The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at Brandeis University. At the time it was the largest gift ever received by an alumnus to the university. For thirteen years, Sillerman served as the Chancellor of Southampton College and is the founder of The Tomorrow Foundation. Sillerman was also a donor and fundraiser for the Democratic Party in the United States.