William Ungar (1913–2013) was a Polish-born American businessman, philanthropist, and Holocaust survivor. He is best known as the founder of the National Envelope Corporation, which grew to become the largest privately held envelope manufacturer in the world.
Early Life and World War II Born on September 20, 1913, in Rohatyn, Galicia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later Poland), Ungar was raised in a Jewish family. He received an education in mechanical engineering at the Lwów Polytechnic Institute. Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Ungar's life was significantly disrupted by the Holocaust. While he managed to survive the war by utilizing his engineering skills and navigating various ghettos and labor camps, his first wife and young son were killed during the conflict.
Career in the United States Ungar immigrated to the United States in 1946. After working several years in the manufacturing sector, he founded the National Envelope Corporation in 1952 in Manhattan, New York. Starting with a single machine and a small team, Ungar oversaw the company’s expansion through both organic growth and the acquisition of competitors.
Under his leadership as chairman and CEO, the company established a nationwide presence with multiple manufacturing facilities across the United States. By the early 2000s, National Envelope Corporation produced billions of envelopes annually and employed thousands of people.
Philanthropy and Later Life Ungar was a noted philanthropist, contributing to various Jewish communal, educational, and medical organizations. He was particularly active in causes related to Holocaust remembrance and the preservation of Jewish history. In 2002, he authored his memoir, Destined to Survive: A Memoir, which documented his experiences during the Second World War and his subsequent professional career in the United States.
William Ungar died on September 11, 2013, in New York City at the age of 99.