Jeff Brotman, Tacoma-born Costco co-founder, dies

Jeff Brotman, the Tacoma-born co-founder of Costco, died Tuesday, the company announced.

Brotman, 74, started the Issaquah-based bulk retail chain with Jim Sinegal in 1983, and has been the company’s chairman for nearly all its existence.

The pair started the company with $7.5 million they borrowed from friends and acquaintances with a single Seattle-based warehouse store. From there, they created a Fortune 500 company with more than 700 stores that generated $116.1 billion in sales in the 2016 fiscal year.

Brotman, born in 1942, grew up as a member of Temple Beth Israel, one of Tacoma’s two Jewish temples that merged in 1960 to become Temple Beth El.

He announced a donation of nearly $1 million to the temple in December 2014 to go toward a preschool.

“I’ve been looking for things in Tacoma, particularly, that I could do,” Brotman told The News Tribune then. “This is the first one I felt strongly about.”

The Wilson High School alumnus left Tacoma in 1960 to attend the University of Washington, for which he later served as a regent.

“There was always an emotional tie here,” said LeRoy Jewelers co-owner Steph Farber, whose parents’ downtown storefront was next door to Brotman’s parents’. “Although he did a lot of his philanthropic work in King County, he was always available. He had a special affection … for the community he grew up in.”

Farber said he wasn’t surprised at the success Brotman or Costco had.

“The guy was just a first-rate human being,” Farber said. “I don’t think he ever lost the sense of who he was, even as he achieved immense success in business.”

That sentiment was shared by Farber’s older brother, Jim, who took part in the Jewish youth organization Brotman was central in organizing back in the late 1950s.

“No one who knew Jeff then in that context was surprised by what he later did,” Jim Farber said. “All the skills that he later showed were evident to us at that time.”

Brotman was an active supporter of Democratic politicians, holding fundraisers at his Medina home for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their presidential campaigns. He also was an active supporter of the United Way of King County.

“Jeff Brotman epitomized the dynamism and drive of the Northwest. His entrepreneurship, creativity and plain hard work changed retail as we know it, and made Costco a worldwide brand,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement. “Many national and global leaders — including presidents and those who aspired to be president — made pilgrimages to his home. His progressive values influenced both business and politics on a national scale.”

Brotman also received a glowing statement from Sen. Maria Cantwell.

“Jeff’s life is an unbelievable story of a Tacoma native who grew up to co-found and run one of the most successful companies in America,” the statement read, in part. “We are proud of him and his leadership in the business world. We are proud to have called him a Democrat. He helped so many do great things in our state. We are shocked and saddened with his passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jeff’s family.”

Jeff Brotman is the older son of Bernie and Pearl Brotman, who were part of the congregation along with their younger son, Michael.

Bernie Brotman was the founder of former Tacoma-based clothing chain Bernie’s Men’s Wear and was the man who came up with the idea for Costco. The Stadium High School graduate, who died in August 1996, was the membership store’s first cardholder. Pearl Brotman died in 1975.

Jeff Brotman is survived by his wife, Susan, and children Amanda and Justin.

In a statement, Costco praised Brotman’s leadership and his role in creating millions of dollars worth of scholarships for minority students at the University of Washington and Seattle University.

“Jeff’s dreams, dedication and drive will continue to be a guiding force in Costco’s future,” the statement read.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Jeff Brotman, Tacoma-born Costco co-founder, dies."