Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman: 'A fabulous duo,' giving back

Today, as chairman of Belmont Holdings Corp. and RGP Holding, Inc., Perelman has a net worth of many multiples of millions, though his businesses are private and the total value is known only to him and his accountants.

He holds to the immigrant ethos of keeping the business in the family and the family in the business. As he worked alongside his brother and for his father, so did his sons begin their careers learning from him. They went to Penn, as he did, and they have been active in philanthropy at their alma mater as well as in the arts. Penn's Perelman Quadrangle is named for Ron; Jeffrey and Marsha donated an oncology unit to Penn's Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Working for their father was not easy. "He was a great boss," Ron once said, adding, "I did get yelled at quite often." At age 35, he asked to be promoted from executive vice president to president - which he says his father saw as "an indication that he would be doing less. So we agreed to disagree," and Ron soon struck out on his own. Does he think this was in part the key to his success? "Oh, absolutely."

Jeffrey, too, asked his father to hand over the reins, in 1990, according to a 2003 Inquirer article. Instead, his father decided which companies Jeffrey could have to establish his own holding company.

Today, Raymond Perelman still goes to his nondescript Bala Cynwyd office most mornings when he's in town, his business invested in two commonly used minerals with multiple uses: diatomaceous earth and perlite ("the name's a coincidence").

He enjoys his success, and knows that with it comes responsibility. "I want to do things for people. I want to give back," he says. "If you're productive, and successful, that's what you're supposed to do."