Before Alan Meltzer would go to create one of the region’s largest most successful insurance funds, that he would go on to sell to NFP, his journey to success started in 1969.
During an interview with Dan Simons on the latest episode of Founding DC, Meltzer said that he hitchhiked from Boston to attend American University.
“I went to wrestle, I went to meet girls and maybe a little bit of studying,” said Meltzer.
In October of his freshman year, Meltzer got a job as a dishwasher at the Tenleytown location of Mr. Henry’s. Three years later, when Meltzer was a senior, he along with a couple friends bought the restaurant.
Not long after, Meltzer spotted a group of ladies walk into Mr. Henry’s. One from the group named Amy caught his eye and he said he did his best to flirt.
“Now, remember, I looked a little bit like a rat,” Meltzer said. “I had a chipped tooth at the time from wrestling.”
He might not give his flirting game enough credit, because he and Amy would date for five years before they tied the knot.
“We’ve been married for 47 years,” said Meltzer. “Four children, seven grandkids, and we have a great marriage.”
Amy influenced his career path also. He sold the restaurant and went on to join her to work at an insurance company, which would lead him to create his own firm, the Meltzer Group.
Even though Meltzer would go on to create a massive company and most likely earn money that a poor kid from Boston would only dream of, when he was asked to define success, he answered, “first is family.”
Along with family, Meltzer seems to put a great importance on charitable giving.
“So Amy and I, we want to take care of our kids. We want to take care of our grandkids, but if we end up having some wealth when we die, we want to spread that to this community, particularly the D.C. community,” said Meltzer.
Editor’s Note: This report has been updated with the correct image of Alan Meltzer.
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