Jacob Schiff emigrated to the U.S. in the late 19th Century and led an investment banking firm, Kuhn, Loeb & Co., which rivaled the house of J.P. Morgan. But his mastery of Wall Street was not his greatest accomplishment.  One of the city’s most generous philanthropists, Schiff poured much of his personal fortune into establishing charities to support the Russian Jews who came to escape the pogroms, including the 92nd Street Y and the Henry Street Settlement to help poor Jews. His philanthropic legacy extended to non-Jewish institutions as a founder of the New York Zoological Society and an early board member of the NAACP, and he encouraged his family members to follow his example of sharing their wealth. A German Jew, Schiff was an ardent supporter of Russian Jewry; he lobbied Congress and President Grover Cleveland to prevent the passage of legislation which would have prevented the massive wave of Russian Jewish immigrants from whom most current New York Jews descend. His son Mortimer Schiff, also an investment banker, was an early leader of the Boy Scouts of America, and his granddaughter Dorothy Schiff spent 40 years as publisher of “The New York Post.”