Wuliger was born to a
Jewish family in
Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Frank Wuliger. His father ran the Ohio Mattress Company which was founded in 1907 by his father Moris Wuliger, a
Hungarian Jewish immigrant. In 1983, he purchased the mattress manufacturer Stearns & Foster. In 1986, the court ruled in Ohio Mattress' favor and awarded Ohio Mattress $77 million. Unable to come up with the judgment, the
Sealy Corporation and all but one of its franchisees were forced to sell to Ohio Mattress. In 1989, Sealy - then the largest manufacturer of bedding in the United States with 28% market share and $700 million in sales - was purchased for $1.0 billion by
leveraged buyout firm Gibbons, Green, van Amerongen (now
Leonard Green & Partners). Wuliger's share of the transaction was $100 million. In 1990, he attempted to buy back the Stearns & Foster division for $87.5 million but failed. His son Tim Wuliger was president of
AIPAC from 1980s. ==Personal life==