Paul (Moshe Yosef) Reichmann ( he, משה יוסף רייכמן; 27 September 1930 – 25 October 2013) was a Canadian businessman and member of the
Reichmann family
The Reichmann/Reichman family is a History of the Jews in Canada, Jewish-Canadian family best known for their property empire built through the Olympia and York company which relied on a carefully constructed image and secrecy to obtain billions ...
. He is best known for his leadership of the
Olympia & York real estate development company.
Formative years
Reichmann was born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1930
to Samuel Reichmann, a poultry farmer,
and his wife Renée. His parents were
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s from a small town in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, but his father had risen to prominence in Vienna as a successful merchant. Paul was the fifth of six children.
The family escaped 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 ...
occupation of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
unintentionally. They had left the country on the day 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 visit Samuel's father in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
who had suffered a
stroke. Abandoning their lives in Vienna, they made their way from Hungary to the neutral
Moroccan city of
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
In Tangier, the family prospered as Samuel became a major currency trader.
After the war Paul left home to study
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
first in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and then in
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 ...
, and his parents hoped that he would become a teacher.
In 1955 he married Lea Feldman.
Rising success
In 1956, Reichmann followed his family to Canada, where three of his brothers — Edward, Louis and Ralph — had established the Olympia Floor & Wall Tile Co, and his eldest brother, Albert, had launched York Factory Developments.
Reichmann fell into property after building a new warehouse for the Toronto tile company. He got the warehouse built for $70,000, selling a year later for a $34,000 profit. He co-founded Olympia & York with his brothers Albert and Ralph in 1958.
Soon the company was building such facilities for others. In 1964,
Olympia and York
Olympia & York (also spelled as Olympia and York, abbreviated as O&Y) was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the World Fina ...
was founded as a separate building and property development firm.
The firm was soon profitable, and expanded rapidly. It also accepted difficult projects, including the construction of
First Canadian Place
First Canadian Place (originally First Bank Building) is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational headquarters of the Bank of Montreal. At ...
, Canada's tallest building, built in 1975.
The company expanded to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and by the mid-1980s it was the largest developer in the world, and
Forbes magazine ranked them the fourth richest family in the world in 1991, worth $12.8bn.
Despite his success, Paul Reichmann lived relatively modestly, described as living in a comfortable home in Toronto, and driving an old Cadillac.
He remained very private and unwilling to talk to the press. He retained his strong religious views, and used much of his fortune to support his religion. In Toronto he built a number of schools and
synagogues which became the centre of a thriving Orthodox community. Shunning most luxuries, his one personal indulgence was collecting rare and valuable Jewish texts. Pursuant to Jewish law, all of Olympia and York's construction projects halted on the Jewish
Sabbath and all holy days.
Troubles
The company ran into severe trouble in the early 1990s. It was due in part to a general decline in the world economy, but the company was truly brought low by the
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...
project. It was the world's largest property development, but remained half empty. Reichmann had taken the project as a major gamble. He had been impressed by
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's reforms and obtained a personal promise from her that she would help the project, most importantly by extending the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
to reach it.
In Canada, Reichmann's once sterling reputation also began to suffer. In 1985 the company had bought
Gulf Canada Resources in a deal that included some $300 million in
tax break
Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this fi ...
s. Many Canadians were infuriated that a massive corporation had been given such a lucrative deal. ''
Toronto Life
''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...
'' magazine also published a highly critical article on the Reichmanns. The family took offence at allegations that Samuel Reichmann had aided the Nazis with illegal smuggling operations during the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
. The family sued the magazine for an unprecedented $102 million. They were successful, and ''Toronto Life'' published a full retraction.
In 1992, as Olympia and York collapsed under some $20 billion in
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
,
Reichmann lost most of his family fortune.
Recovery and retirement
Despite these setbacks, Reichmann successfully rebuilt a small portion of his empire. This included setting up a partnership with
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
,
Lawrence Tisch and
Michael Price.
Along with investors such as
Al-Waleed bin Talal
Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist and royal. He was listed on ''Time'' magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hu ...
, a consortium paid $1.2 billion for a controlling stake in Canary Wharf, from a third party in charge of the property's administration. Reichmann was hired as chairman. As
Sandy Weill
Sandy may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Sandy (surname), a list of people
*Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983)
*(Sandy) A ...
stated, Reichmann was hired because, he "...really came up with that whole concept and built it, and got overleveraged and lost it...he knew where every screw was, where every nail was, he knew and loved the operation better than anyone else..." Canary Wharf went public in 1999.
During 2004, a takeover battle began for the Canary Wharf Group in which Reichmann eventually sided with Canadian developer Brascan to attempt a purchase of the company. During this process, he resigned his position on the Board. In March 2005, a consortium of investors led by Morgan Stanley under the banner of Songbird Estates purchased Canary Wharf Group, and Reichmann was therefore no longer involved with Canary Wharf on a day-to-day basis. Reichmann, at the time 75, announced that he intended to retire from business and sold many of his property holdings.
Return to business activity
In September 2006, Reichmann announced that he was bored with retirement and that he would be setting up a new $4 billion fund, based in Toronto, with offices in Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Death
Paul Reichmann died at the age of 83 in Toronto on 25 October 2013.
His funeral took place Saturday night, 26 October 2013, at the Bais Yaakov Elementary School (15 Saranac Boulevard), in Toronto.
He was buried in Jerusalem, in
Har Hamenuchot
Har HaMenuchot ( he, הר המנוחות, Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Har HaMenuchos, lit. "Mount of Those who are Resting", also known as Givat Shaul Cemetery) is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem. The hilltop burial ground lies at ...
cemetery.
See also
*
Canadians of Hungarian ancestry
References and notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichmann, Paul
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
1930 births
2013 deaths
Canadian chief executives
Canadian construction businesspeople
Canadian Orthodox Jews
Canadian real estate businesspeople
Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss
Jewish Canadian philanthropists
People from Tangier
20th-century philanthropists