Benjamin Winter, Sr.
| Benjamin Winter Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 5, 1881 Łódź, Poland |
| Died | June 16, 1944 (aged 63) New York City, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | real estate developer |
| Known for | founder of Winter Incorporated |
| Net worth | $40 million (1927, equivalent to $2.8 billion in 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Dora Winter |
| Children | Benjamin Winter Jr. Marvin S. Winter Beatrice Winter Spitz Ethel Winter Schanzer Natalie Winter Ballen |
Benjamin Winter Sr. (February 5, 1881 – June 16, 1944) was a real estate developer in New York City and founder of Winter Incorporated.
Winter served as president of the American Federation of Polish Jews.
Born in Łódź, Poland, to a Jewish family, Winter emigrated in 1901 to New York City following his father who had arrived the prior year. His father took on a tour of Manhattan, showing him the lavish Vanderbilt and Astor houses which Winter was to eventually own. After saving for twelve years, in 1912, Winter used the proceeds as a painter of tenements to invest in real estate first purchasing tenements on his own in lower Manhattan and in 1913, he partnered with Scotch-Irishman Andrew O'Brien and expanded into Washington Heights where they purchased their first apartment building. The venture was successful and Winter soon after started his own company funded by his share of the profits and investors in the Polish Jewish community, he invested in mid-Manhattan where he targeted the great mansions of Fifth Avenue for redevelopment. In 1925, he purchased the Mrs. William B. Astor House and later demolished it; in 1929, it was replaced with the new Congregation Emanu-El of New York (In 1926, Winter had previously purchased and sold the old Temple Emanu-El building at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street which was demolished and replaced in 1927 with a commercial building by its subsequent owner Joseph Durst). Also in 1925, he purchased the William K. Vanderbilt House and demolished it replacing it with a residential high rise. By tearing down the mansions, Winter along with fellow real estate speculator Frederick Brown, were credited with transforming that section of Fifth Avenue into "the aristocrat of shopping thoroughfares." In 1927, he formed Winter Incorporated and offered preferred shares on the which enabled him to raise funds for larger projects. He went bankrupt in 1937 during the Great Depression losing his entire $40 million (equivalent to $2.8 billion in 2015) in wealth, although he recovered most of his wealth by his death in 1944.
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