David Lewis Paul (May 1, 1939 – January 18, 2022) was an American banker, real estate developer, philanthropist and founder of

CenTrust Bank CenTrust Bank, A State Savings Bank was a Miami, Florida-based savings and loan. Its failure in 1990 was one of the largest and costliest failures of the savings and loan crisis. Background and downfall Dade Savings & Loan Association opened i ...

Biography

Paul was born in on May 1, 1939, in MiamiFlorida Trend Magazine: "Florida Icon - David L. Paul, Former chairman, CenTrust Savings Bank, age 71" by Mike Vogel
July 1, 2010 to a Jewish family, the son of Ruth (née Goldstein) and Isadore Paul.Washington Post: "The Banker's Toppled Tower" by Myra MacPherson
March 19, 1990 His father founded a chain of dry cleaning stores and died when he was ten. His mother took her sons David L and Robert A. Paul first to Scranton, Pennsylvania where they stayed with her mother while Ruth was finding a place in New York for her and her two sons. Paul graduated from the

Cheshire Academy Cheshire Academy is a selective, co-educational college preparatory school located in Cheshire, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1794 as the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, it is currently the eleventh oldest boarding school in the United ...

in Cheshire, Connecticut and then the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He started his career in Connecticut where his company, Paul Properties, built two controversial apartment buildings. He then took control of a Massachusetts Real Estate Investment Trust called the Westport Company. In 1979, Westport purchased the American Furniture Mart in Chicago for $6.5 million with plans to convert it into apartments.Chicago Tribune: "Developer Charges Bank Sabotaged 666 Project" by David Ibata
March 04, 1985 In 1983, Paul purchased the near bankrupt Dade Savings and Loan Association through the transfer of 92% of his interest in Westport, renaming it

. By 1988, CenTrust was the largest thrift institution in the southeastern United States with $8.2 billion in assets. He built the $90 million, I.M. Pei-designed

CenTrust Tower The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in central Downtown. It is currently the 16th tallest building in Miami and Florida. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed it ...

. In 1989, CenTrust lost $119 million and in 1990, Centrust lost $1.7 billion and was seized by the federal governmentNew York Times: "Ex-Chief of Centrust Bank Is Convicted on 68 Charges"
November 25, 1993 after "excessive and inappropriate expenses and investments." Paul was ousted as chairman.

Conviction

On November 25, 1993, Paul was convicted of fraud in Federal Court for making personal use of CenTrust's funds while the savings and loan was failing. Paul was convicted on 68 counts consisting of 47 counts of bank fraud, 9 of misapplication of Centrust funds, 5 of filing false tax returns, 4 of mail fraud, 2 of obstruction of regulators, one count of conspiracy and one count of making false entries on Centrust books. Facing a maximum of 350 years in prison he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $65 million ($60 million in restitution and a $5 million fine). He was released in 2004.

Philanthropy and political contributions

Paul donated $500,000 to the University of Miami and $100,000 to Barry University. Paul served as the head of the governing body of

Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,5 ...

. Through his CenTrust Political Action Committee, Paul donated to both Joe Biden's and Richard Gephardt's presidential campaigns as well as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Personal life

Paul was married three times. In 1965, he married Lynn Pamela Goelet of the influential Huguenot

Goelet family The Goelet family is an influential family from New York, of Huguenot origins, that owned significant real estate in New York City. History The Goelets are descended from a family of Protestant Huguenots from La Rochelle in France, who escaped per ...

in a Jewish ceremony at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

in Manhattan; they had two sons, Michael and David, before they divorced. He was introduced to his second wife, Joy Fererh Germont Simons (sister of composer

Bruce Wolosoff Bruce Wolosoff (born March 27, 1955 in New York City) is an American classical composer, pianist, and educator.B ...

) by fellow real estate developer and sometimes partner

Sol Atlas Sol Geoffrey Atlas (1907–1973) was an American real estate developer. Biography Atlas was the son of Fanny "Faigel" (née Anczkowski) and Abraham Atlas (formerly Atlasowicz). He dropped out of high school and went to work with his father. In ...

; they divorced 2 months later.New York Times: "Judge and Heiress: The Rise and Fall of a Private Affair" by Catherine S. Manegold
November 15, 1992 Paul's third marriage was to Sandy Paul; they had one daughter, Deanna, before divorcing and she remarried real estate developer

Stephen Muss Stephen Muss (born 1928) is an American real estate developer known for leading the resurgence and redevelopment of Miami Beach, Florida. Early life and education Muss was born to a Jewish family in New York City< ...

.''Fool's Paradise: Players, Poseurs, and the Culture of Excess in South Beach'' By Steven Gaines
pages 100 -110 Paul died from COVID-19-related causes on the morning of January 18, 2022, at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, David L. 1939 births 2022 deaths American real estate businesspeople American bank presidents American philanthropists American fraudsters 21st-century American Jews Businesspeople from Miami Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)