Adam Joel Weitsman was born on June 13, 1968, in Owego, New York. He is an American entrepreneur, recycling executive, and philanthropist.
Weitsman built Upstate Shredding into one of the largest privately held scrap metal processors on the East Coast.
Who is Adam Weitsman?
Adam Weitsman is the owner and chief executive officer of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling. His company processes ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal across facilities in New York and Pennsylvania.
Weitsman also co-founded Olujo Tequila and acquired the beauty brand GLOSSLAB in 2025. He is an active investor in Web3 and digital assets.
Beyond business, Weitsman owns four restaurants in Skaneateles, New York. All net proceeds from those restaurants go to charities supporting women and children in Central New York.
He is also a longtime collector of nineteenth-century American stoneware.
Early Life of Adam Weitsman
Weitsman was born and raised in Owego, New York. His grandfather, Ben Weitsman, founded an auto parts and scrap business called Ben Weitsman & Son in 1938.
His father, Fred Weitsman, later ran that same company for decades. Fred retired in 2005, and Adam acquired the business from him.
Weitsman discovered his love of art early. In 1980, his father and grandfather unearthed two early American stoneware bottles during an excavation at their scrap yard.
That discovery sparked a lifelong collecting hobby. By 1982, Weitsman already owned 60 pieces of nineteenth-century stoneware.
He lost his sister, Rebecca, to cancer in the early 1990s. That loss brought Weitsman back to Owego to join the family scrap business full time.
Adam Weitsman Age
Adam Weitsman is 58 years old as of July 1, 2026, born on June 13, 1968. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
He remains active as CEO of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling well into his fifties. In 2026, he also relaunched GLOSSLAB as a global beauty brand.
Adam Weitsman Ethnicity and Nationality
Weitsman holds American nationality. He was born and raised in Owego, New York, and still keeps a residence on Skaneateles Lake in the same region.
His specific ethnic background has not been publicly confirmed. Weitsman rarely discusses his heritage in interviews or public appearances.
Adam Weitsman Height and Weight
Weitsman’s exact height and weight are not publicly confirmed. No verified source lists precise measurements for him.
Public photos show him as an average-height, average-build man. He has kept a consistent public appearance across recent business and philanthropic events.
Adam Weitsman Education
Weitsman graduated from Owego Free Academy in 1986. He then studied at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York, where he majored in banking.
After college, Weitsman moved to New York City to pursue art rather than banking. In 1989, he took a job at the Manhattan gallery Hirschl & Adler Folk. He later opened his own gallery in Greenwich Village.
Adam Weitsman Career
Early Career
Weitsman opened the American Folk Art Gallery in Greenwich Village in 1991. He ran the gallery while building his stoneware collection on the side.
In 1995, he became vice president of Ben Weitsman & Son, his family’s scrap company. That role introduced him to the processing side of the metal recycling business.
After losing his sister to cancer, Weitsman left New York City. He returned home to Owego and joined his father in the family scrap operation full time.
Building Upstate Shredding
Weitsman opened Upstate Shredding in 1997 at the Tioga County Industrial Park in Owego. The plant began as a single shredding facility on 17 acres.
In 2004, Weitsman was sentenced for check kiting. He paid a $1 million fine and served eight months in prison.
He rebuilt the business after his release. In 2005, Weitsman acquired Ben Weitsman & Son from his retiring father and merged operations under one banner.
Between 2009 and 2016, the company expanded aggressively. Weitsman added scrap yards in Solvay, New Castle, and Watertown, plus a port facility in Albany.
By the end of 2016, all locations operated together as Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling. The combined company became the East Coast’s largest privately held scrap metal processor.
Recent Ventures
Weitsman has diversified well beyond scrap metal in recent years. In 2025, he co-founded Olujo Tequila alongside Larsa Pippen and Oliver Camilo.
Olujo launched in June 2025 with a single ultra-premium añejo expression. Each bottle sells for around $500 and comes in a handcrafted ceramic decanter.
That same year, Weitsman acquired the intellectual property of GLOSSLAB after its original owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In May 2026, he relaunched GLOSSLAB as a global beauty and lifestyle brand.
Elizabeth Woods now serves as GLOSSLAB’s president, with Jordyn Woods as chief creative director. The brand’s debut collection launched in spring 2026.
Weitsman is also an active investor in Web3 projects and digital assets, including holdings tied to Yuga Labs.
Adam Weitsman Awards and Recognition
Weitsman has received several honors tied to his leadership at Upstate Shredding. He won the international Platts Industry Leadership Award in both 2014 and 2016.
Under his leadership, Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling also won Scrap Company of the Year from American Metal Market in 2015 and 2016. That award recognized the company two years in a row.
Weitsman rarely highlights these honors himself. He tends to credit his team and family history instead.
Adam Weitsman Philanthropy
Weitsman has donated his stoneware collection to the New York State Museum in Albany since 1998. That collection is worth millions of dollars.
In 2019, he gave $100,000 toward the renovation of the Rescue Mission’s Clarence L. Jordan Food Service and Culinary Education Center. He also donated $10,000 that year to Vera House, a Central New York nonprofit fighting domestic and sexual violence.
Weitsman founded CNY Tuesdays and CNY Wednesdays. Those programs let community members nominate local organizations to receive weekly $2,000 grants funded through Upstate Shredding.
He also sits on the board of the Tioga Boys and Girls Club of America. His grandfather Ben founded that chapter decades earlier.
Weitsman is a well-known Syracuse University basketball supporter and a longtime friend of coach Jim Boeheim. In 2021, he pledged $1,000,000 to local charities after Boeheim’s Army won a national tournament.
Adam Weitsman Wife
Weitsman met Kim DeFrance in 2000. She left her modeling career in 2004 to join Upstate Shredding as an operations manager.
The couple married in June 2006 in Skaneateles, New York. Kim Weitsman later helped reopen The Krebs, a historic Skaneateles restaurant, in 2014.
Together, the couple has invested heavily in Skaneateles real estate and hospitality. They now own four restaurants in the town.
Adam Weitsman Children
Adam and Kim Weitsman have three children together. Specific names and ages for their children have not been publicly confirmed.
The family lives on Skaneateles Lake in New York.
Adam Weitsman Net Worth
Adam Weitsman’s estimated net worth is $1.2 billion as of 2026. Most of that fortune traces back to Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling.
The company is privately held and does not disclose public financials. Estimates instead rely on reported annual sales figures near $750 million.
Weitsman’s other ventures, including Olujo Tequila and GLOSSLAB, add further business diversity to his portfolio. His stoneware collection alone has been valued in the millions.
Adam Weitsman Social Media
Weitsman is active on Instagram at @adamweitsman. His bio there describes him as a dad, industrialist, restaurateur, philanthropist, and founder of Olujo Tequila.
He also posts on X under the handle @AdamWeitsman. His posts there cover business updates, Syracuse sports, and his Web3 investments.
Weitsman uses both platforms to share updates on his companies. He does not appear to run a public TikTok or YouTube channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Adam Weitsman’s net worth?
Adam Weitsman’s estimated net worth is $1.2 billion, built mainly through Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling.
How old is Adam Weitsman?
Adam Weitsman is 58 years old as of July 2026, born on June 13, 1968.
Who is Adam Weitsman married to?
Weitsman is married to Kim Weitsman, formerly Kim DeFrance, since June 2006.
What is Adam Weitsman famous for?
Weitsman is best known as the owner and CEO of Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, a major East Coast scrap metal processor.
Where was Adam Weitsman born?
Weitsman was born in Owego, New York, on June 13, 1968.
What businesses does Adam Weitsman own besides Upstate Shredding?
He co-founded Olujo Tequila and relaunched the beauty brand GLOSSLAB in 2026. He also owns four restaurants in Skaneateles, New York.
The Bottom Line
Adam Weitsman turned a family scrap yard founded in 1938 into Upstate Shredding – Weitsman Recycling, one of the largest privately held scrap processors on the East Coast. He built that growth through steady acquisitions between 2005 and 2016.
Weitsman balances his industrial career with a passion for art, having donated a stoneware collection worth millions to the New York State Museum.
He also gives back locally through CNY Tuesdays, CNY Wednesdays, and four charity-funding restaurants in Skaneateles.
In 2025 and 2026, Weitsman expanded into tequila with Olujo and relaunched GLOSSLAB as a global beauty brand. He continues to run Upstate Shredding while building out this new chapter of ventures.
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