Ben Cohen — business (ben & jerry's) with roots in the Russian Empire
Ben Cohen co-founded Ben & Jerry's Homemade in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, building a global brand that embedded progressive activism into corporate identity. He pioneered the concept of values-led business, donating profits to social causes and championing campaign finance reform.
"Irving and Frances Cohen's families emigrated from the Russian Empire in the early 20th century."
Migration storyTracing the roots — Russia (Jewish)
Cohen's parents Irving and Frances were children of Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire, part of the great Ashkenazi diaspora that fled poverty and pogroms. That inheritance of communal solidarity and outsider conscience shaped his conviction that business must serve society, not merely shareholders.
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Russia (Jewish). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.