 A polymath with a photographic memory, he graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, then studied philosophy in West Germany.In 1953, after the death of his father, he moved to New York City to lead Ziff Davis Inc. Four years later, he bought out co-founder Bernard Davis, who then launched Davis Publications Inc. Ziff then re-directed the company toward enthusiast magazines and trade publications, with the acquisition of such titles as "Car and Driver", "Popular Electronics", "PC Magazine", "World Aviation Directory" and "Computer Shopper".By focusing on enthusiast and trade publications, Ziff's salesmen were able to directly target advertisers who wanted to market to a specific audience.