A Class of One is a biography of Donald Sturm, son of a hard-luck, Depression-era waiter and Jewish immigrant from Ukraine. Don left his humble Brooklyn neighborhood in the 1950s, became the first in his family to attend college and 40 years later was one of the 90 wealthiest men in America.

The 240-page book, published in January 2022, tells the story of Sturm’s upbringing in 1930s Brooklyn and his rise through college and the Army to the top of the construction industry. Leveraging the value of stock he earned as a top executive at Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc., he became a visionary telecommunications investor; builder of Western banking, real estate and investment operations; and a philanthropic leader.

A Class of One reveals stories from Sturm’s family and business life, including his brushes with the likes of Warren Buffett, Armand Hammer, Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping, corporate raider Sir James Goldsmith and leaders of ill-fated Enron Corporation; his attempt to buy the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche; and his family’s support of Jewish and other causes, including co-founding Judaism Your Way, an inclusive approach to Jewish worship.