Minnesota Vikings owner says it's all about family

Zygi Wilf may be a billionaire businessman, but in a talk at the Law School, he said that he doesn't expect to make any money off one of his most recent investments.

Wilf, who led a group that bought the Minnesota Vikings football team last year, spoke on behalf of the Jewish Heritage Project last night.

Passion was one of the recurring themes in Wilf's short talk.

Football is a passion of Wilf, and he said it compelled him to buy the team - even though he is a New York Giants fan living in New Jersey.

"Passion has to be there to endure the fact that you're not going to make money," he said. "Whatever you have a passion for . do it at your utmost best."

Family was another of the themes Wilf touched on.

Wilf was introduced by his daughter, Elana Wilf, who said she admires her father "for all the work he puts into every aspect of his life."

Wilf said his family is very important to his identity.

It's "good to have a good pedigree," he said.

Wilf is the son of Holocaust survivors, and came to America at the age of two months.

He added that his family's spirit of unbridled optimism in the face of adversity - namely, the Holocaust - is "the foundation to [his] success."

"What's important is to have an understanding of your past," Wilf said. "When you learn about your past, you know much more about yourself and what you can do in the future."

Wilf said that the lessons he learned at home have even helped him run the Vikings.

"A lot of things that will make us a good football team are the same things we learned in family business," he said.

About two dozen students, and about the same number of professional mentors, attended the event.

Wilf's talk was held in conjunction with JHP's annual Meet Market, in which students are given the opportunity to meet local professionals and explore how they can incorporate Judaism into their professional lives.

Sascha Knobloch, who organized the event, said that "everything [the JHP does] is aimed at making Jewish life for students at Penn easier."

"It's easy to be successful in business and Judaism," he said. "A lot of people think it's not as easy" as it actually is.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.