Leonard Litwin

Leonard Litwin
Born (1914-10-16) October 16, 1914
Citizenship United States
Occupation real estate developer
Net worth Decrease US$1.0 billion (October 2007)[1]
Spouse(s) Ruth Littman
Children Carole Littman Pittelman
Diane Littman Miller

Leonard Litwin (born October 16, 1914)[2] is an American real estate developer who, through his company, Glenwood Management Corp., specializes in residential construction. His firm currently owns and operates approximately 24 buildings in Manhattan.[3] and rents about 4,200 high-end units.[1] His buildings have a reputation for being well built and well managed.[4]

Biography

Born to a Jewish family,[5] Litwin began his career in the nursery business with his father.[1] In the 1950s, however, Litwin became interested in real estate development and began building high-rise apartment buildings on Manhattan's Upper East Side. In the 1960s Litwin built what was then city's largest luxury high rise, The Pavilion.[1] His Liberty Plaza, a 45-story apartment rental complex, was the first new building to rise in Manhattan after the September 11 attacks.[6]

In 2006, Litwin ranked number 374 on the Forbes 400, with a net worth of approximately $1 billion. In 2007, he had dropped to number 891, with a net worth of $1 billion.[1] He was named as one of the holders of an account with alleged Ponzi scheme firm Bernard L. Madoff Securities in a court filing in February 2009.[5]

Philanthropy and political activities

Notwithstanding his success in real estate, Litwin has remained in the nursery business, operating Woodbourne Cultural Nurseries, Inc., in Melville, on Long Island, NY. He is turning the nursery into an arboretum of over 200 acres.[4] With fellow developer Don Zucker, he co-founded the Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease [7] at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research [8] in Manhasset, NY, and substantially supports research at several hospitals. Additionally, Litwin established The Litwin Foundation.[9]

In 2012, at age 97, he was rated as the highest individual donor to New York State politicians in the past year, with donations amounting to $700,000.[10] He avoided caps on his donations by using his limited liability companies (LLCs).[10] He gave state Republicans $436,500 and Governor Andrew Cuomo $76,000.[10] William Street Associates is an LLC with Leonard Litwin as its head. The firm has made a donation to Peter Vallone's campaign in 2000.[11]

Personal life

Litwin was married to Ruth Littman; she died in 2014.[12] They have two daughters: Carole Littman Pittelman, acting as the company’s president, and Diane Littman Miller.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Forbes: The 400 Richest Americans - Leonard Litwin October 2007
  2. ↑ Litwin, Leonard. "United States Public Records Index". familysearch.org. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Glenwood.com
  4. 1 2 rooftoplinnaeus.blogspot.com
  5. 1 2 New York Magazine: "Charities, Old People, Jews Hit Hardest by Madoff Fraud" By Jessica Pressler December 15, 2008
  6. ↑ The Real Deal: "Glenwood’s Litwin named REBNY’s first-ever lifetime honorary chairman" April 25, 2012
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ dynamodata.fdncenter.org
  10. 1 2 3 New York Post: "‘Old’ money" by Erik Kriss February 1, 2012
  11. ↑ villagevoice.com: "Campaign Cash - Vallone Leads Pack in Real Estate Dollars" By J.A. Lobbia January 25, 2000
  12. ↑ New York Times: "RUTH LITWIN - Obituary August 11, 2014
  13. ↑ New York Press: "Housing for Generations" October 9, 2009
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