Samuel Irving “Si” Newhouse, who was at the helm of Condé Nast for more than 40 years before becoming chairman emeritus in 2015, died Oct. 1 following a long illness. He was 89.

Samuel Irving Newhouse

Along with his brother, Donald, Newhouse owned Advance Publications, whose holdings include Parade Publications, Fairchild Publications, American City Business Journals and more than 30 newspapers. The company was also owner of Random House from 1980 to 1998

Si Newhouse was best known as the driving force behind Conde Nast, where he started in 1961 and became its chairman in 1975. His father, S.I. Newhouse Sr., brought Condé Nast under the Advance Publications umbrella in 1959, purchasing it for $5 million, allegedly as an anniversary gift for his wife, Mitzi, who loved Vogue. The New Yorker was added to the Condé Nast stable when Advance paid $200 million for the title in 1985.

Newhouse was known for keeping firm control of the executive suites at the publications he owned, but was not regarded as someone who meddled in their day-to-day operations. “He owned the operation, paying the salaries and the rent, but he did not touch the magazine’s pages,” David Remnick wrote on The New Yorker’s website. “He never revealed his political inclinations, he never gave advance instructions or retrospective criticism of an issue.”