29 Facts About Larry Silverstein

Larry A Silverstein was born on May 30,1931 and is an American billionaire businessman.

Larry Silverstein separated from his business partner, Bernard Mendik, in 1977, and bought a number of large office buildings in Midtown and Lower Manhattan in the late 1970s.

Larry Silverstein was interested in acquiring the original World Trade Center complex, and put in a bid when the Port Authority put it up for lease in 2000.

Larry Silverstein won the bid when a deal between the initial winner and the Port Authority fell through, and he signed the lease on July 24,2001.

Larry Silverstein ran into multiple disputes with other parties in the rebuilding effort, including with the Port Authority.

Larry Silverstein attended the High School of Music and Art in New York, and then New York University, graduating in 1952.

Larry Silverstein's wife worked as a school teacher, supporting the family on her salary for the first few years of their marriage while Silverstein attended classes at Brooklyn Law School.

Mendik and Larry Silverstein continued the business after the elder Larry Silverstein's death in 1966.

Mendik cited disagreements over real estate strategies, as Mendik wanted to buy buildings while Larry Silverstein wanted to build.

Also in 1980, Larry Silverstein bought the building at 120 Wall Street, which was constructed in 1930.

In 1991, he set aside 20 floors of 120 Wall Street to be leased by non-profit organizations, as an Association Center, with tax incentives for the tenants and bonds for Larry Silverstein to undertake building renovations.

In 1980, Larry Silverstein won a bid to lease and develop the last undeveloped parcel from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to build the 47-story 7 World Trade Center.

Larry Silverstein was outbid by $30 million by Vornado Realty, with Boston Properties and Brookfield Properties competing for the lease.

Larry Silverstein's negotiated bid was finalized on April 26,2001, in partnership with Westfield America, Inc and accepted on July 24,2001.

Larry Silverstein put up $14 million of his own money to secure the deal.

Larry Silverstein has said in interviews that he usually spent his mornings in breakfast meetings at Windows on the World on top of the World Trade Center North Tower, and with new tenants in the building.

Larry Silverstein appealed the Swiss Re decision, but he lost that appeal on October 19,2006.

Larry Silverstein is applying insurance payments toward the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.

Larry Silverstein ceded his rights to building One, and allocated a portion of the insurance proceeds to the rebuilding of building One in favor of the Port Authority.

Larry Silverstein was involved as a developer of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, which is home to the Woodrow Wilson Center.

In November 2006, Larry Silverstein agreed to buy the building at 99 Church Street from Moody's for $170 million.

Moody's moved its headquarters two blocks west into Larry Silverstein's rebuilt 7 World Trade Center in 2007.

Larry Silverstein bought a $34 million penthouse on the 80th floor of the building, which overlooks the World Trade Center complex.

Larry Silverstein sold his previous apartment, custom designed by James Stewart Polshek at 500 Park Avenue, in January 2019.

In 1989 Larry Silverstein proposed to members of the Israeli government that a free trade zone should be created within the Negev region of Israel.

Larry Silverstein has been involved in his alma mater, as founder and chairman emeritus of New York University's Real Estate Institute, and as a trustee of the New York University Medical Center and Health System.

Larry Silverstein has served as chairman of the United Jewish Appeal in New York, the Realty Foundation, trustee of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and treasurer of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

Larry Silverstein is a governor of The Real Estate Board of New York.

On May 17,2017, Larry Silverstein delivered the keynote address to the School of Medicine's graduating class, which included seven Larry Silverstein Scholars.