Edward Reichmann ( he, אדוארד רייכמן; 1925 – July 2005) was an Israeli businessman. He is the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. He was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy

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merchant of Hungarian origin from Beled. The family was lucky to escape Austria before the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

invasion leaving the country on the morning of

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to

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and then the neutral city of

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where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Reichmann was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He liked Canada, being attracted by

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother

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to found Olympia Floor and Tile, a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul,

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, and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. He put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...

. Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto-based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichmann, Edward

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

1925 births 2005 deaths Austrian emigrants to Canada Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss Canadian chief executives Canadian construction businesspeople Canadian emigrants to Israel Canadian real estate businesspeople 20th-century Israeli businesspeople Israeli Jews Israeli people of Austrian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent 20th-century Canadian businesspeople