NEW YORK (JTA) — Edgar Bronfman, the billionaire former beverage magnate and leading Jewish philanthropist, passed away Saturday. He was 84.

As the longtime president of the World Jewish Congress, Bronfman fought for Jewish rights worldwide and led the successful fight to secure more than a billion dollars in restitution from Swiss banks for Holocaust victims and their heirs. As a philanthropist, Bronfman took the lead in creating and funding many efforts to strengthen the Jewish identity of young people.