He was a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a pillar of his family and community. His love was expressed through constancy—valuing order, respect, and the rituals that give life structure: Sunday meals, familiar stories, and the steady rhythms of family life.
He emigrated with his family to the Bronx, New York, in 1961 at the age of twelve. As his entrepreneurial family expanded in the food and entertainment businesses, he worked alongside his father and siblings. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael’s Academy and went on in the 1970s to study industrial engineering at Columbia University on a full scholarship, later earning his MBA.
After professional roles at Pfizer, JP Morgan Chase, and the Royal Bank of Canada, he founded Mediacom Communications, which grew to become the fifth-largest cable provider in the United States, operating across twenty-two states and offering high-speed data and mobile services.
An accomplished athlete, he played soccer for Columbia University, earning three All-Ivy League honors and an invitation to try out for the 1972 Olympic team. His lifelong love of the sport later led him to invest in soccer ownership. In 2017, he purchased a majority stake in the New York Cosmos, and in 2019, acquired ACF Fiorentina in Florence. In recognition of his achievements, Columbia University named its soccer stadium in his honor.
A man of deep cultural roots, he remained closely tied to his Calabrese heritage. He understood identity not as performance, but as inheritance—carried forward through habits, food, faith, and memory. His charitable work was generous and quiet, and he used his creativity and business acumen to add lasting value to Calabria, as well as to his adopted communities in New York and Florence.
Rocco B. Commisso died on January 19, 2026. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. A memorial Mass is planned at the Duomo of Florence on January 26. Among numerous business and civic honors, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Those who knew him remember a man who did not seek attention, yet commanded respect—unassuming despite immense success, measured in judgment, and reassuring in presence. In a restless age, he represented continuity and decency.
He is survived by his loving family, who carry forward his name, his values, and the quiet example he set. He will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and enduringly honored—not only for the life he lived, but for the foundation he left behind in both the United States and Italy.
~ By Antonio Isernia
