George W. Schaeffer is a Hungarian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for founding OPI Products and leading People’s Trust Insurance Company. Born in Hungary to Holocaust survivors, Schaeffer immigrated to the United States with his family in 1956, settling in New York City.
In 1981, after relocating to Los Angeles, Schaeffer acquired a dental supply business called Odontorium Products Inc. and transformed it into OPI Products, a pioneering brand that revolutionized the nail care industry. Known for its high-quality products and creative, iconic color names, OPI became a global leader in the beauty world. He built the company into an internationally recognized brand before selling it to Coty in 2010.
Schaeffer later co-founded People’s Trust Insurance, a Florida-based homeowners’ insurance company, in 2008. The company was honored with the 2013 Enterprise Florida Governor’s Innovators in Business Award.
Schaeffer has supported various community efforts, including food, clothing, and school supply drives, fundraising for breast cancer awareness and families in need, and more. His generosity extends to his employees – he organized an essay contest that awarded laptops and printers to 44 employee families and $1,000 scholarships to 15 families with children headed to college.
The philanthropic impact of Schaeffer and his wife, Irina, has been profound. Through the George and Irina Schaeffer Foundation, they have donated millions to organizations worldwide, including the American Heart Association, Leukemia Research Foundation, and National Lung Association. As Chairman of the Bnai Zion Foundation, he helped establish the George W. Schaeffer Music Conservatory (2013) and the George and Irina Schaeffer Cultural Center (2017) in Israel. The Schaeffers are donors to the USC Shoah Foundation and helped found the George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention at the American University of Paris in 2016.
