Life Is A Game: Bet On Yourself

Life Is A Game: Bet On Yourself is Al Azus’s rags-to-riches story. With Horatio Alger as his inspiration, Al grew up in a Turkish immigrant family in Chicago.

At the age of eight, he had his first job – selling chances to win a prize by picking the right number on a punchboard; by age eleven he was selling ice cream, and at the age of fourteen he worked for the fanciest men’s clothier in the city where he met union leaders, mobsters, and businessmen. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the military and ended up in Europe at the end of World War II, guarding German prisoners of war, including SS officers. He married, moved to California with his beautiful wife, Serene, his two young children, and worked as a door-to-door salesman eventually finding a niche for himself in the envelope printing business. Tragedy struck when Serene died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. Eventually, Al reclaimed his life. Today he is one of the leading businessmen in his industry, married to his third wife, Hedi, and a is great philanthropist supporting children’s charities, Jewish causes, and museums.