Harry Wilf (1921 – 1992) was a Polish-born American businessman, and the co-founder of

Garden Homes Garden Homes is an American real estate development company, founded in 1954. Garden Homes owns and manages over 50,000 apartments and over 25 million square feet of retail, office, and hotel space. Garden Homes, and its subsidiaries, offer home r ...

, one of the largest real estate development companies in the United States.

Early life

Harry Wilf was born in Poland in 1921, the son of Ella and Oscar Wilf. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Russians deported the family from Jaroslaw, Poland, to a Siberian labor camp. In 1950, they emigrated to the US, and settled in

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

Career

In 1954, together with his brother,

Joseph Wilf Joseph Wilf (1925 – August 3, 2016) was a Polish-American businessman, Holocaust survivor, and the co-founder of Garden Homes, one of the largest real estate development companies in the United States. Early life Joseph Wilf was born in Jaros ...

, he co-founded

, one of the largest real estate development companies in the United States. In 1964, they founded the Wilf Family Foundation, which later expanded into seven foundations.

Personal life

He was married to Judith Jakubowiez (died 2006), and they had a son,

Leonard Wilf Leonard A. Wilf (born 1947) is an American businessman, the president of Garden Homes, the co-owner and vice chairman of the Minnesota Vikings football team, and co-owner of the Nashville SC. Early life Leonard Wilf was born in Göggingen, Germa ...

Legacy

In 1996, the

Jerusalem Foundation The Jerusalem Foundation ( he, הקרן לירושלים, ''HaKeren LiYerushalayim''; ar, مؤسسة صندوق القدس) is a nonprofit foundation that promotes the development of the city of Jerusalem, by raising funds for social, cultural a ...

renovated a park in central Jerusalem (originally called Independence Park, and planted in 1958 by the South African Zionist Federation to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Israel), and rededicated it as

Harry Wilf Park Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

References

1921 births 1992 deaths

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

American real estate businesspeople American people of Polish-Jewish descent People from Hillside, New Jersey People from Jarosław Polish emigrants to the United States {{US-business-bio-stub