Howard Rubenstein, PR's 'dean of damage control,' dies at 88 Patrick Oster, Bloomberg FacebookTwitterEmail His death was announced by his son Steven, the president of Rubenstein Associates Inc. Once called "New York's No. 1 public relations man" by the New York Times, Rubenstein used his personal connections among politicians, real estate moguls, media owners and entertainment stars to promote the best interests of his clients. In 1999, when his firm celebrated its 45th anniversary, it had about 500 accounts that generated $30 million a year, according to a Times story at the time. His client list for decades was populated mostly by famous people who had paid him to make them look good. They included personalities such as Donald Trump, who once fired Rubenstein over his handling of news coverage of Trump's messy divorce from his first wife, Ivana -- before later hiring him back. He also represented George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees.