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Jack Buncher

Jack Buncher
Born 1911
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died December 4, 2001 (age 90)
Palm Beach, Florida
Nationality United States
Occupation real estate developer
Known for Founder of the The Buncher Company
Net worth $197 million
Spouse(s) Renee Buncher
Elaine Buncher
Joanne Buncher
Children with Renee:
--Bernita Buncher Balter
with Elaine:
--Stephen Buncher

Jack Buncher October 3, 1911 - December 4, 2001) was an American real estate developer and industrialist

Buncher was born to a Russian Jewish immigrant family. In 1917, Harry, his father opened a scrap yard, the Liberty Scrap Co. at 3131 Liberty Avenue. Although he studied medicine and law at Duquesne University, he returned to the family business in 1931 due to the advent of the Great Depression. In 1935, at the age of 24, he took over his father's business then stretching four blocks in the Strip District. During World War II, the business grew due to the demands of the war effort. After the war, he founded the The Buncher Company and expanded his operations by opening another scrap yard on the North Side with a focus on scrap steel as well establishing operations in Philadelphia and Mobile, Alabama where he scrapped Liberty ships and other military equipment. Using the proceeds from his business, Buncher began to purchase old railroad properties and rail lines so as to scrap the rails and the ties. This led to general real estate investments and he began to purchase property throughout the city and region including the West End, the South Side, the North Side, and Westmoreland County and Beaver County, becoming one of the city's largest property owners. In the 1950s, he developed the region's first industrial park in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. In 1960s, he sold his scrap yard on the North Side to the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority for the construction of Three Rivers Stadium. In the 1980s, he a sold the right of way to establish the West Busway. In the 1990s, he sold the land for Washington's Landing. Upon his death, Buncher left behind one of the largest real estate portfolios seen in Pittsburgh.


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