Media magnate John Kluge dies at 95

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- John W. Kluge, whose media holdings made him one of the richest people in America, has died in Charlottesville, Va., his representatives said. He was 95.

The John W. Kluge Foundation confirmed that Kluge -- whose media empire included TV and radio stations, outdoor advertising, the Harlem Globetrotters and the Ice Capades, as well as paging and mobile telephone services -- died Tuesday night at a family home, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Kluge, who was born in 1914 in Chemnitz, Germany, came to the United States with his family in 1922, settling in Detroit. He began working for his stepfather as a payroll clerk at age 10 and became a millionaire at 37, the Times said.

Kluge's holdings included Metromedia, a group of TV and radio stations that included WNEW, New York, as well as stations in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington and Baltimore. He sold the television stations to Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. for $2 billion, the Times said.

Kluge eventually sold 11 radio stations for nearly $290 million, got $710 million for the outdoor advertising operation and about $30 million for the Globetrotters and the Ice Capades, the newspaper said.

In 1986, Forbes magazine ranked him No. 2 on its list of the wealthiest people in America, after Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was ranked No. 109 in 2010, with a fortune estimated at $6.5 billion.

Kluge was known as a generous donor to philanthropic causes, including the restoration of Ellis Island and construction of a wing at the University of Virginia children's hospital. He served on the boards of numerous charitable groups as well as Occidental Petroleum, Orion Pictures and other corporations.

The Library of Congress established the Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanities in recognition of his 2000 gift to the library of $73 million.