PERCY ROSS

Percy Ross was a nationally-known millionaire who was famous for giving away money. But before he made his millions, he lived in St. Louis Park for 20 years.

Ross was born on November 22, 1916 in Michigan, the son of poor immigrants from Latvia and Russia. He graduated in 1934 from Calumet High School. In 1946 he came to Minnesota and started the Northwest Fur Auction Co. There was no St. Louis Park directory in 1946, but we know he lived in the Park by 1947. Ross, his wife Laurian, and sons Steven (born 1942) and Larry (born 1947) lived at 4045 Vernon Ave., which at that time was right on Highway 100. He lived there until 1967, two years before he made his fortune. He apparently owned the house next door at 4049 Vernon, approximately from 1966 to 1978.

In 1951, a vendor gave him a bad check for $25,000, and Ross went broke. Nobody would loan him any money, so he went to local gangster (and fellow Parkite) Kid Cann, who loaned him $500. He started Ross and Ross Auctioneers, which auctioned heavy construction equipment. In 1956, his office was at 5407 Excelsior Blvd. in Miracle Mile. An undated news article announced that a $150,000 building shaped like an inverted pyramid was being built for Ross and Ross Auctioneers, designed by Benjamin Gingold and Associates. It is unclear if/where this building was built.

Ross and Ross needed space to run their auctions – one possible location was at 37th Street and Highway 100 in 1957. In July 1953, was granted permission to conduct an auction at Highway 100 and 36th Street, on the site of the Village’s Veterans Housing, which had just been phased out. In July 1956 an auction of machinery and equipment was held on land north of 2360 Highway 100, on land owned by Pockrandt Lumber.

Competition and lawsuits shut down the auction business, so in 1959 he bought a company called Poly-Tech, based in Bloomington. The company made polyethylene plastic bags. At first the business faltered and he filed for bankruptcy, but then it boomed, with help from his family. By 1969 it was such a success that it was bought out for $8 million.

After dividing the $8 million among his family, he set on a course of making successful investments and amassing a considerable fortune. At first he spent it on lavish parties, but soon turned to giving away (mostly small amounts of) money. One way was to distribute silver dollars, often throwing them from a float in a parade. One highly publicized event was on December 24, 1977, where he gave 1,050 bicycles to poor kids in Minneapolis (he wanted to be known as the “Jewish Santa Claus”). The event also featured Mel Jass, Carmen the Nurse, and Darth Vader.

After the bicycle giveaway, people began writing to him, asking for money. To handle it, in 1983 he began a newspaper column called “Thanks a Million,” where he would respond to certain letters. He also hosted a daily radio show, syndicated to 400 stations. In 1987, he wrote a book called (The Secret of Getting What you Want by Knowing How to) Ask For the Moon – and Get It!

Percy Ross claimed to have given away as much as $30 million. His last column was published on September 19, 1999. He died on November 10, 2001 at his home in Edina. His wife had passed away 10 months earlier.

One website of interest is http://www.goodbyemag.com/oct01/ross.html

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.