His gift is nothing short of transformational. “Austin Marxe has propelled forward the ambitions of an entire school of thousands of students for generations to come,” says Dr. David S. Birdsell, longtime dean of the newly named Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs “Through those students and graduates, Mr. Marxe will have changed the way that we steward the fortunes of government agencies, of nonprofit organizations, of hospitals. It’s awe-inspiring.”

Meet the very private man who has ventured forth to endow such an ambitious undertaking for the public benefit. Says Marxe “The objective is to put the money where it does some special good, where it can make a positive difference in the world.”

A Benefactor Like Us
Like so many Baruch students, Bronx native Austin Marxe came from a family of modest means. His father struggled professionally and financially, sometimes working two jobs. “We didn’t have a lot of money,” recalls Marxe. “So when it came to going to college, it was simple: Get a scholarship. Get into City College. Or don’t go. Fortunately I got into City.”

At first Marxe attended City College uptown, majoring in chemical engineering, which he quickly realized wasn’t for him. He transferred downtown (to today’s Baruch) with the idea of one day going into business for himself. “Of course, I had no concept of how to go about that,” he says. His only plan: majoring in accountancy. “I thought that if I were an accountant, I would get to see the inner workings of many businesses and maybe then figure out how to start my own.” During his college years, Marxe worked various full-time jobs by day and took a full course load at night. Sometimes he would do homework on the subway. “It wasn’t easy,” he states.

Support for faculty research and expanded global reach will be one of the key benefits of the Marxe gift.
From left: The alumnus-benefactor with MSPIA faculty Dr. Anna D’Souza and Dr. Na Yin.

 

His busy schedule didn’t allow much time for extracurricular activities either, and often he found himself just getting by academically. “To start with, I was never a great student—not because I couldn’t learn, but because I wasn’t interested. If a class interested me, then I’d get an A. I was immature and rebellious,” he concludes. But there’s no getting around Marxe’s talent for numbers, his ambition, and his stick-to-itiveness.

Finding His Niche
When he graduated in 1965, Marxe began working for small accounting firms. A couple of years later, he was hired by the prestigious firm of Anchin, Block & Anchin, where he started in accountancy and transitioned to management services, on track for a partnership. “Very smart people, very quality firm. I learned a lot there,” he says. Always interested in the market, Marxe began investing as a hobby. “Totally unsuccessfully at first,” he recalls. “I managed to consistently lose money.” Undeterred, he ditched his broker, began teaching himself about the market, and started to get good at picking stocks. “I realized that investing is what I love,” says Marxe, who in his thirties took on the challenge of a new career.

Success as a broker came quickly. With the backing of his new employer, Prudential Bache, Marxe founded Special Situations Funds in 1985. As this company grew, in 1991 he brought in a partner and bought out Prudential’s interest, naming the new endeavor AWM Investment Company, Inc. Looking back, Marxe concedes that he’s blessed with the right temperament for investing: a high tolerance for risk and a low level of anxiety (“I never worry about business”).

His dispassionate approach keeps life balanced for this husband of 53 years, father of two, and grandfather of four. “I can have a terrible day in the market, come home, have dinner, and not think about it until the next day.” This outlook won’t guarantee success. “But,” he says, “if you’re right 60 percent of the time, you’re doing very well.”

 

20/20 Hindsight
The maverick businessman doesn’t discount Baruch’s impact, saying, “Clearly without the credentials and education I got at Baruch I wouldn’t have been able to follow this career path. And although I didn’t recognize it at the time, the accounting and economics background was invaluable. Bottom line: I got an excellent education.” Marxe also fondly remembers professors who managed to make challenging, precise material fun, like Irving Chaykin (’32). “I was a reluctant student, but he got me to do what I should do,” says Marxe of the beloved accountancy professor.

Inspiration and Motivation
Also formative for Marxe was the relationship he shared with his maternal grandfather, a progressive Russian émigré who instilled in his grandson that “you have to have a moral conscience to be a good person.” The two spent Sundays together taking car trips from the Bronx to Westchester (“he was the only one in the family who had a car; my parents couldn’t afford one”). Topics of conversation included the meaning of life and the importance of doing the right thing, serious stuff for an 11-year-old. “He was a major influence on me,” says Baruch’s benefactor.

With an eye toward giving back, in 2007 Marxe made a contribution to the Baruch College Fund for Bloomberg terminals. In 2011 he supported scholarships, and in 2015 he endowed the Austin Marxe Scholarship as part of the College’s Scholarship Campaign. His motivation is simple: “I’m trying to give back to a society that’s given me a lot,” he says.

Private Gift in the Public Good
Marxe describes himself as “waiting in the background for an opportunity to do something that would have a meaningful impact. Naming the School of Public and International Affairs was a great opportunity.”

So what impact does Marxe hope his gift will have? He’d like to see MSPIA become one of the top nationally ranked schools of this type, educating leagues of committed professionals who will make a positive difference in the world. “We’ve accomplished something very substantial if that happens,” he says. “I can only finance it. Baruch can make it happen.” —Diane Harrigan