Updated:
MSC Industrial Direct
The family's wealth traces to 1941, when Sidney Jacobson founded Sid Tool Co. in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
MSC Industrial Direct
The family's wealth traces to 1941, when Sidney Jacobson founded Sid Tool Co. in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The business evolved into MSC Industrial Direct, a publicly traded distributor of metalworking and maintenance supplies that now generates over $3.5 billion in annual revenue. Mitchell Jacobson, Sidney's son, led the company as CEO before transitioning to Chairman, and the family office operates adjacent to the public entity. The office deploys capital primarily through direct investments in private industrial and distribution businesses, reflecting the family's operational expertise. Its portfolio spans private equity, venture-stage industrial technology, and commercial real estate. Known direct positions have included manufacturing service providers and logistics-technology platforms, though the office does not publicly disclose a full holdings roster. The geographic focus centers on North America, with a concentration in the Northeast and Midwest industrial corridors. The family office operates from Melville, New York, MSC's corporate headquarters. Erik Gershwind, who succeeded Mitchell Jacobson as CEO of the public company, is deeply tied to the family—Mitchell is his uncle—and the office's investment activities remain closely held. The Jacobsons also maintain a philanthropic vehicle, the Jacobson Family Foundation, which directs grants toward education, healthcare, and Jewish communal causes. September 2023: MSC Industrial Direct announced the retirement of its CFO, a move that underscored the family's continued influence over corporate governance (per the firm, September 2023). The office's structure is a classic operating-company-adjacent family office: investment decisions are made privately by family principals, drawing on the industrial relationships and sector knowledge accumulated over 80 years of distribution operations. Unlike many single-family offices that diversify into third-party fund commitments, the Jacobsons appear to favor direct control, mirroring the hands-on management style that built the public company.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Melville
Corporate office
Melville, NY, United States
Principals
Mitchell Jacobson
Chairman Emeritus
Erik Gershwind
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who controls investment decisions at the MSC Industrial Direct family office?
Mitchell Jacobson, Chairman Emeritus of MSC Industrial Direct and son of founder Sidney Jacobson, is the central figure. The office operates privately with a lean internal team, and Erik Gershwind—Mitchell's nephew and MSC's President and CEO—is a key family member in the broader ecosystem. There is no public investment committee roster.
Does the family office invest independently from MSC Industrial Direct itself?
Yes. The family office is a separate entity from the publicly traded MSC Industrial Direct Co. (NYSE: MSM). While both share the Melville, New York headquarters and the Jacobson family's oversight, the office's portfolio consists of private investments and personal assets, not corporate treasury allocations.
What kind of deals does the Jacobson family office pursue?
The office concentrates on direct private equity investments in industrial, distribution, and manufacturing companies, alongside commercial real estate holdings. This mirrors the operational DNA of MSC Industrial Direct. Publicly disclosed co-investments or fund commitments are rare, suggesting a preference for control-oriented, direct deployment.
Is there a philanthropic arm associated with the family?
Yes, the Jacobson Family Foundation serves as the family's primary philanthropic vehicle. It supports education, healthcare, and Jewish community organizations, primarily in the New York metropolitan area. The foundation operates independently from the investment office.
How large is the family's investment pool?
The family does not publicly disclose its private investment assets under management. Mitchell Jacobson's wealth is tied principally to his MSC Industrial Direct equity stake; the public company's market capitalization provides context but does not reveal the office's private portfolio scale.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: