Donor Story - Maurice Amado

Maurice Amado established the foundation that bears his name in 1961. Maurice Amado was a descendant of Sephardic Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. He immigrated to New York from Izmir, Turkey around 1903 and moved to Los Angeles in 1940.

Maurice Amado and his brother Raphael worked in the tobacco trade business at a time when incorporating Turkish tobacco into American cigarettes was becoming popular. With the proceeds from his profits in this business, Maurice became a successful financier and investor.  He was married to Rose Bernstein who founded a high-end dress business in New York City under the brand name Pattullo Modes. While Rose had a son from a previous marriage, she and Maurice never had children.

Maurice Amado deeply valued education and made great efforts to become extremely well cultured for his time. He taught himself English by attending lectures and speeches in New York City and by studying newspaper articles. He read a great deal, mainly philosophy, and kept a large library in his home. He was also an excellent conversationalist.

Maurice was extremely close to his brother Raphael Amado, who had five children. Remarkably for the times (1910s – 1930s), all of Raphael’s children – including the three girls --  went on to study at universities; the two boys studied law and became attorneys, and two of the three girls graduated from UCLA’s then-new Westwood campus. These children were very close to their uncle Maurice, who had been extremely involved in their life as young immigrants in Brooklyn and had even accompanied their mother and the oldest two children (born in Turkey) during their journey to immigrate to America. The descendants of Maurice’s five nieces and nephews continue to serve on the Maurice Amado Foundation Board of Directors.

In addition to establishing the Foundation, Maurice granted funds to Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Los Angeles, a place which had welcomed his extended family and an institution that his brother Raphael had helped to build and grow, to create a scholarship fund for the children of Temple members. 

In 2009, looking to expand reach and make educational opportunities accessible to a broader range of people beyond the Sephardic Temple, members of the Maurice Amado Foundation determined JFLA was the right place to establish a student loan fund.

Holding similar attitudes toward learning as Maurice and Raphael Amado did generations before them, the current members of the Maurice Amado Foundation continue to believe strongly that education provides people with the tools they need to improve their lives. As much as education helped Maurice achieve the success that he did, so do we hope it will help future generations build their own lives and communities.