Harry Helmsley
| Harry B. Helmsley | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1909 |
| Died | January 4, 1997 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Net worth |
 US $6 billion |
| Spouse(s) | Eve Ella Sherpick Green (divorced) Leona Rosenthal Roberts (m. 1972) |
Harry B. Helmsley (March 4, 1909 – January 4, 1997) was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country’s biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York’s most prestigious hotels. From humble beginnings, Helmsley moved up in property through natural salesmanship, a willingness to delegate, and shrewd acquisition policies that were ahead of their time. His second marriage to Leona Roberts (“Queen of Mean”) led to charges of false accounting and tax evasion, and a celebrated trial, where Harry was judged too frail to plead, but Leona was fined and jailed.
Henry Brakman Helmsley was the son of Henry Helmsley, a wholesale dry goods buyer, and the former Minnie Brakmann. He was born in Manhattan and brought up in the Bronx, attending Evander Childs High School, where he did not graduate. The family could not afford a college education, but his grandfather got him a job as an office boy in a real estate firm, Dwight, Voorhis & Perry, where he showed a keen talent for the business and was made a partner. In 1938, he bought the firm, renaming it Dwight, Voorhis & Helmsley. In the first half of his career, his portfolio consisted mainly of smaller properties in less-affluent parts of New York City, though it was extensive and highly profitable.
In 1954, Helmsley bought the Lincoln Building, a major office skyscraper on Forty-second Street. A year later, he bought a real estate management company owned by Leon Spear, and the firm became known as Helmsley-Spear. In 1961, he bought the Empire State Building—then the tallest building in the world—against warnings that the maintenance costs would be too high. Presently, these would be joined by the Graybar, Fisk, and Flatiron buildings, as well as major residential developments. By then, Helmsley was classed as the most influential real estate magnate in the city. His success was attributed largely to a gift for salesmanship, a willingness to delegate authority, and a less-usual acquisition policy of long-term fixed-rate mortgages during a slump and cash purchases when interest rates were low. This policy has since become standard in real estate.
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