Born in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, Sid was the only son to Ben and Celi Friedman. Witnessing how hard his parents had to work, he vowed early on to somehow achieve the American Dream.

Applying himself in true Sid fashion, he graduated from NYU in 1957 with a Bachelor’s in Financial Services before he went on to earn credentials as a Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, Registered Health Underwriter, and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow.

In 1966, Sid’s ambitions took him to Philadelphia, where he became one of the insurance industry’s top producers, and where he built the Corporate Financial Services company into an immense success.

The only person to serve as president of the International Top of the Table, the Twenty-Five Million Dollar International Forum, and the Association of Advance Life Underwriting — Sid also wrote five books, including the highly acclaimed How to Make Money Tomorrow Morning.

Cited by Forbes as “one of corporate America’s most powerful people,” and admired for his expertise, Sid was often seen on screens and stages worldwide, where his unbridled enthusiasm, trademark humor, and street-smart sales advice were the stuff of legends.

Despite all his ambitions and achievements, Sid never dimmed his love of humanity and desire to help others; he was trustee of The American College in Bryn Mawr, and founder of the Philadelphia branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Throughout his life, Sid battled cancer, coronary heart disease, and a bout with lymphoma that should’ve taken him. But, battling strong, as was his nature, he shone brightly through it all, forever devoted to his beloved wife Sue, daughter Wendi, and daughter Lori. A shining star for us all, he lifted everyone around him.