The elderly elite of Kansas City share their life journeys, what motivated them along the way, the lucky breaks and tough times, and advice for staying active and relevant in their later years
Written by David Hodes
Interviewed by David M. Block, David Hodes and Pete Mundo
Barnett Helzberg, Jr.
Birth date: December 29, 1933, Age: 91
“The most important thing in life is enriching other people’s lives and adding to their happiness.”
He is the former chairman of the board of Helzberg Diamonds, a 109-year-old jewelry dynasty in Kansas City. He is the man responsible for expanding the company from 15 units in 1962 to become the third largest jewelry retailer in 23 states, now with over 200 stores. He is the author of two books on business, the last one published in 2012.
Barnett Helzberg, Jr., the third generation Helzberg owner now in his 90s, is currently the chairman and founder of the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program and co-founder and board member of University Academy, a K-12 charter school in KCMO.
The Diamond Business
Being in the diamond business was “a neat business,” Helzberg says. “I always said it’s a perfect business because you’re looking at beautiful merchandise and then you’re helping these people be happy and express themselves. So to me, when you compare it to other businesses, it’s really a good place to be.”
Wow. The list of achievements for this stalwart Kansas Citian is deep and impressive, more so considering the work he continues doing even today.
Both Barnett Helzberg and his wife, Shirley, are workaholics, with admitted good and bad outcomes. Asked about work-life balance, Helzberg says he doesn’t get an “A” in that. “I didn’t balance family and work. I had a lot of good times with my boys, but I don’t get a reward for balance.”
That Chance Meeting
Probably one of the most interesting moments in his storied career was a chance meeting with Warren Buffett on a May morning in 1994 in New York outside of the famous Plaza Hotel. In 30 seconds,
Buffett profoundly changed the future of Helzberg Diamonds.
“That moment still gives me goosebumps,” Helzberg says. “This is my typical luck. We were at the point where we were ready to sell the business (there were 143 Helzberg jewelry stores nationwide at the time). And that’s kind of scary, because somebody could wreck it.”
Helzberg was outside of the Plaza Hotel and heard a lady say “Warren Buffet.” “I turned around and there he was, right after an annual meeting,” Helzberg says. “I walked over and I introduced myself, and I said, ‘Our company fits your criteria for an investment,’—and it did at that time. He said ‘We’re in that (jewelry) business, send me the information.’ I sent the financial information. We had a profitable company with a good balance sheet, and he invited us to come to Omaha. It was so simple and very different from how other people do those types of acquisitions. There were no gimmicks, no tomfoolery. It was pretty unbelievable.”
The company sold to Buffett for a rumored $100 million-plus, but the details are closely guarded. It was probably a sweet deal—the average per-store sales were $1.7 million in 1994, nearly double the industry average. Total sales then were $282 million. Buffet retained the Helzberg name and the company’s leadership.
I Am Loved
Helzberg and his wife like to talk about one of the biggest marketing inventions ever done for a jewelry store—the ‘I Am Loved’ buttons. Here’s his version of the origin story for that invention: “That was really weird. I’ve always loved advertising, so I’m home one night and I just write this thing out with stick figures. It said, ‘Give her a button for free or a diamond, but tell her she is loved.’ We put that saying up on a sign at Signboard Hill (the current location of Crown Center Hotel). And the thing went nuts.”
Helzberg Diamonds had great advertising people, and they came up with the greatest ads Helzberg had ever seen. “I guess my favorite was that some school prohibited kids from wearing the buttons to school. So we ran an ad that said: ‘Follow the rules. But after school, you can wear them.’ There were so many good experiences.”
Continuing the Work
Helzberg’s work seemingly never ends. He points to the University Academy charter school he started in 2000, which had a bumpy beginning with wrong leadership but got straightened out. One of the new leaders they found, Superintendent Tony Kline, took the charter into National Blue Ribbon status in 2017, which is as high as a charter school can get.
“We made a deal,” Helzberg says. “We don’t want to get you in college. We want to get you out of college. So we started a thing called the University Academy Foundation. We follow up and keep in contact with the kids. It’s really helped. And these are kids that are poor kids. In a lot of these homes, they don’t even have one book.”
Helzberg had another idea that he attributes to Ewing Kauffman, who occasionally helped and mentored him. That was the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program started in 1995, and Helzberg is still actively involved in it today. “It really is amazing, the different things they do and what they’ve accomplished,” he says. “We call it mentoring, but really it’s relationships.”
Good advice can come from anywhere, and Helzberg has proof. “I’ve had some incredible advisors. You just have to know where to go to get good advice.”
Personal Hero
Helzberg’s personal hero in life is his wife, Shirley, who is involved in many things—whether as an entrepreneur, mentor or philanthropist. “I don’t understand how she can do what she does,” he says. “I don’t think there’s three people in the world that could cover all these bases. It makes you tired watching.”
The lesson he has learned in his long life is to associate yourself with the right people and learn from them. “I’ve been very lucky to know people with a lot of merits, a lot of accomplishments. That’s very helpful.”
“That moment still gives me goose-bumps.”
“I always said it’s a perfect business because you’re looking at beautiful merchandise and then you’re helping these people be happy and express themselves.”
