Maurice Tempelsman, the Belgian-American diamond magnate who was the longtime companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, died on August 23, 2025, at the age of 95, following complications from a fall in Manhattan.
A Life Forged from Resilience and Influence
Born on August 26, 1929, in Antwerp, Belgium, Tempelsman and his Orthodox Jewish family fled Nazi persecution in 1940, resettling in New York City. He briefly attended New York University, then joined his family’s diamond business, Leon Tempelsman & Son, eventually becoming a powerful figure in international diamond trade.