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George Weiss, Chief Executive Officer of Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, to Receive 2022 Horatio Alger Award 

Horatio Alger Association names 16 outstanding individuals, each of whom has overcome adversity to achieve professional and personal success, to its Member Class of 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, today announced that, George Weiss, chief executive officer of Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers LLC has been selected for membership in this prestigious organization. Mr. Weiss joins 15 other exceptional business, civic and cultural leaders from across North America in receiving 2022 honors. For more than 70 years, the Horatio Alger Award has been annually bestowed upon esteemed individuals who have succeeded despite facing adversities, and who have remained committed to higher education and charitable efforts in their communities. 

The son of Jewish immigrants who fled the European Nazi invasion in 1938, George grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts. His parents worked hard, but often struggled to pay the bills. To help with family expenses, George began bussing tables when he was 11. He worked his way through college, earning a degree in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1965.  

Mr. Weiss began his career specializing in utility stocks and investing on behalf of institutional clients at Bache Halsey Stuart, Inc., in Hartford and briefly at Faulkner, Dawkins and Sullivan, Inc. In 1978 he founded the asset management firm George Weiss Associates. 40 years later, the highly successful firm, now known as Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers LLC, is well-respected for its integrity, longevity, stability, and leadership.  

In 1987, inspired by a group of low-income students that he mentored during his Wharton years, he created Say Yes to Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of inner city students. Today, Say Yes to Education scholarships and supports are available to 170,000 students in New York, Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Mr. Weiss is also the founder of the Orphan Disease Pathway Project, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to finding cures and effective treatments for rare diseases. 

 “George Weiss exemplifies the values the Horatio Alger Association holds dear,” said Terrance J. Giroux, executive director, Horatio Alger Association. “He understands that access to post-secondary education has the power to change lives and has spent much of his life championing this important mission.  We couldn’t be prouder to welcome George as a 2022 Horatio Alger Member.” 

He dedicates much of his time to his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, where he previously served as a Trustee at Penn Medicine and a member of the Penn Medicine Executive Committee. Mr. Weiss also previously served as Vice Chair of the University Board of Trustees, Chair of the Development Committee and Chair of the Making History Campaign. 

In 2010 Mr. Weiss received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Syracuse University, and his educational philanthropy has been honored with the Cleveland E. Dodge Medal for Distinguished Service. He is a life regent of the University of Hartford and a Trustee Emeritus of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation. Mr. Weiss has earned a 6th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and KiToshaKai, and a 7th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He was a Member of the United States Martial Arts team from 2002 to 2006 and is an Internationally Certified Master Instructor. 

“The Horatio Alger Award is one of the highest honors one can receive, and I am humbled to join this esteemed membership,” said Mr. Weiss. “The work that the Association does to support young people pursuing higher education is both impactful and inspiring. I look forward to working alongside my fellow Members to support deserving young people as they pursue their dreams.”  

Thanks to the generosity of its Members, the Association awards need-based scholarships to outstanding high school students who are committed to pursuing higher education and giving back to their communities. The Association also educates young people about the limitless opportunities afforded to them by the free-enterprise system through hard work, honesty and determination. Like Association Members, Horatio Alger Scholars have faced significant adversities, but have also displayed unmatched resilience in overcoming their challenges. Since the scholarship program was established in 1984, the Horatio Alger Association has provided more than $235 million to 35,000 students in need, all of which has been funded solely through the generosity of Association Members and friends. 

Mr. Weiss and the Member Class of 2022 will be formally inducted into the Association on April 7-9, 2022, during the Association’s 75th Horatio Alger Award Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. The annual three-day event honors the achievements of both Members and National Scholars, affording both groups the opportunity to meet and interact as well as exchange stories of hardships and triumphs. 

For more information about Horatio Alger Association and its Member Class of 2022, please visit www.horatioalger.org and follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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About Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans:  

Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles. The Association honors the achievements of outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity by bestowing upon them the Horatio Alger Award and inducting them as lifetime Members. Horatio Alger Members support promising young people with the resources and confidence needed to overcome adversity in pursuit of their dreams through higher education. Through the generosity of its Members and friends, in 2020, the Association awarded more than $21 million in undergraduate and graduate need-based scholarships to 2,500 students across the United States and Canada and provided college support and mentoring services to its Scholars. Since 1984, the Association has awarded more than $235 million in undergraduate, graduate, military veteran and career and technical education scholarships to more than 35,000 deserving students. For more information, please visit www.horatioalger.org.