Yesterday, we lost a giant of a man.
Dr. Yosef Walder, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a winner of a man, sadly passed away after battling illness for many years.
Dr. Walder, who started his career as a professor of biochemistry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine before starting his own company, (IDT), out of a shul office.
That company grew and grew, eventually being bought out by Private Equity for $1.8 Billion in 2018.
I knew Dr. Walder, and he had a major impact on me and on thousands of others. Here are five personal lessons I’ve learned from this giant.
1) Humility.
Dr. Walder was one of the most unassuming men you’d ever encounter. If I were to show you a lineup of men, you’d never be able to identify the billionaire. He didn’t show off. He didn’t boast. In fact, he lived in quite a modest house considering his means, and drove his famous ole’ Buick for many years.
Lesson: Wealth doesn’t mean acquiring material possessions. Dr. Walder was happy with what he had
2) Tzdaka
Dr. Walder did more for the Chicago Jewish Community than possibly anyone. Read that again. He and his wife built up tens of schools, and provided funds for many of them to have tuition. He built programs that educated young children about the sciences.
As one Rabbi said, “Dr. Walder is the only one who’d come to me and push me to have him help out more. He’d ask ‘what else could I help with?’”
Lesson: Whether it’s material or with your time, give back to others. You’ll be remembered for that, not your BMW 6 Series.
3) Kindness to the Extreme
The above kindness is quite uncommon, but still, it happens. What Dr. Walder and wife do is go above and beyond. I personally remember how Dr. Walder always had Kalman, a special needs individual, by his side. He’d eat by his house every Shabbos, he’d walk to shul with him.
Additionally, the Walders took in some children during a tough period in these children’s lives. When a mother died in a car accident, the Walder's took in Eliyahu and their sister and funded their lives. Sadly, Eliyahu died young, and subsequently, the Walders dedicated two schools to their adopted son’s memory.
There’s giving money and then there’s giving their whole being to helping others. I don’t exaggerate when I say that Dr. Walder gave his heart and soul to helping others. He used to say that part of what is so amazing about his company was that he was able to give people jobs.
Lesson: Be recklessly kind. You'll never, ever regret it. I promise you
4) It Was Never, Ever About Him
Dr. Walder never made it about himself. As you’ll notice, there aren’t any magazine profiles of this billionaire, nor are there any news of extravagant purchases after their company was sold. When I asked a Rabbi today about Dr. Walder’s generosity and if there was more info online on his history, the Rabbi responded, “I don't know of anything like that. I worked closely with him for the [yeshiva] dinner and it was never about him, to him it was all about the success of the yeshiva.
He never demanded respect, even though he could’ve asked for it and gotten about 30x the amount of respect.
Lesson: Focus on helping others and being a vessel.
Thankfully, Forbes never found out about this holy man. He wouldn't have liked the attention. Trust me.
5) Cutting edge of Tech:
Dr. Walder’s company, IDT, had a kit that was the first approved test for Covid by the CDC in February of 2020. Please read that again.
Dr. Walder worked tirelessly for over 30 years to build up an incredible company.
They’re also a leader in the area of CRISPR, the genetic engineering technique that allows scientists to modify the DNA of living organisms.
To say that Dr. Walder was at the cutting edge is quite an understatement.
Takeaway:
Let’s take away some valuable lessons from Dr. Walder:
Be kind, be thoughtful to the needs of others, don’t make it about you, and yes, work hard.
Shalom Goodman
