Wilma Tisch

Billie Tisch died in June 2026 at her home in Manhattan. She was 98. Since the death of her sister-in-law, Joan Tisch, in 2017, Billie Tisch had become, in effect, the matriarch of the family controlling the fortune built by their late husbands, famed investors Preston and Laurence Tisch. The brother started with small New Jersey hotel 1946. Acquired Loews Theatres 1959. Today publicly traded Loews Corp. holding company includes diverse assortment of investments: oil drilling (Diamond Offshore), natural gas pipelines (Boardwalk), insurance (CNA). Billie Tisch was the first woman to be elected president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (now UJA-Federation of New York), an umbrella group that helps the poor and elderly, subsidizes child care agencies and health programs, and sustains Jewish cultural programs, mostly in New York and in Israel, through affiliated agencies. She served from 1980 to 1983. Mrs. Tisch was also the chairman of the WNYC Foundation, which supports New York Public Radio, and vice chairman of United Way of New York City.