Slim-Fast nutritional weight-loss shakes were developed and launched by S. Daniel Abraham in 1977. According to the Center Peace website, Abraham is an American entrepreneur and pioneer in the pharmaceutical and diet food industries. Abraham's interest in weight loss prompted him to develop diet products that would help dieters lose weight and slim down.
Early History Before SlimFast
S. Daniel Abraham served in the army during World War II. After returning from the war, Abraham worked for his uncle's drug company. Soon after, he purchased San-Cura, a soothing ointment company, for $5,000. Under Abraham's direction, San-Cura grew and was renamed Thompson Medical. In the late 1950s, Abraham introduced Slim-Mint gum, an appetite suppressant product containing benzocaine. In 1976, Dexatrim diet pills also were released but did not bring Abraham much success at that time.
Company Profits
According to the Forbes website, S. Daniel Abraham sold his first company, Thompson Medical, in 1998 for $200 million. The Forbes website also reports that Slim-Fast sales were more than $610 million annually when Abraham decided to sell Slim-Fast in 2000. Unilever, a global marketing company, bought Slim-Fast from Abraham for $2.3 billion. As of October 2010, S. Daniel Abraham is listed as number 164 on the Forbes 400 richest Americans. His net worth is listed on Forbes' website as $1.8 billion.
S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace
The S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, located in Washington, D.C., was established in 1989 by Abraham and the late Wayne Owens, a Utah congressman. Having been a World War II veteran, Abraham sought to achieve peace in the Middle East. Partnering with Congressman Owens, Abraham led the center's team of officers on trips throughout the Middle East. The Center's mission is to inform and educate American politicians on the difficulty of attaining peace in the Middle East.
Additional Centers and Projects
According to the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace website, Abraham has additional centers in which he promotes global understanding. They include the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue at Netanya Academic College and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies at Tel Aviv University. Other projects Abraham is involved in are the Clinton Global Initiative, the U.S. Institute of Peace's S. Daniel Abraham Hall, Brookings Institution's S. Daniel Abraham Israeli-Palestinian Workshop and Princeton University's S. Daniel Abraham Chair in Middle East Policy Studies.
Education, Authorship and Family
According to the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace website, Abraham holds honorary doctorate degrees from Bar Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University and Yeshiva University. Abraham is author of "Peace is Possible," a book detailing Abraham's discussions with Middle East leaders. As of 2010, Abraham had six children, 26 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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