Seymour Milstein (July 21, 1920 – October 2, 2001) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist.

Early life and education

Milstein was born to

Jewish 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""The ...

familyBusiness Insider Australia: "MILSTEIN: The Rise And Schism Of A Powerful New York Family" by Carrie Hojnicki
June 15, 2012 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and raised in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

.New York Times: "Paul Milstein, City Real Estate Titan, Dies at 88" By DOUGLAS MARTIN
August 9, 2010 His father was Morris Milstein, an immigrant from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and who started out as a floor scraper. In 1919, his father founded the Circle Floor Company, Inc., a wood flooring company.The Real Deal Real Estate News: "Billionaire developer Paul Milstein dies" By Adam Pincus
August 09, 2010] Later in 1945, his father also founded the Mastic Tile Company, a vinyl floor tile manufacturing company.New York Times: "Seymour Milstein, City Real Estate Magnate, Dies at 81" by TERRY PRISTIN
October 3, 2001 In 1941, Milstein graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. After graduating, he began working for his father's company, the Mastic Tile Company, of which he became president in 1955. Milstein's brother,

Paul Milstein Paul Milstein (May 12, 1922 – August 9, 2010) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. Early life and education Milstein was born to a Jewish family New York Times: "Milstein Opens Throttle as Builder"
October 18, 1981 In 1959, Mastic Tile was sold to Ruberoid for $24 million. Circle Floor expanded into floor tiles, acoustical ceilings, and drywall construction and won contracts to install flooring in several New York landmarks including

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

, the United Nations Building, and both John F Kennedy Airport and

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

. By 1966, Circle Floor had become the largest subcontractor of floor, wall and ceiling construction in the United States.

Career

In the late 1950s, Milstein and his brother Paul founded Milstein Properties and branched out into real estate. Paul was the aggressive frontman and deal-maker while Seymour was the contemplative

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

who preferred to work behind the scenes.New York Times: "THE LIVES THEY LIVED: SEYMOUR MILSTEIN, B. 1920 LEWIS RUDIN, B. 1927; Lords of the Land" by James Traub
December 30, 2001 This difference is temperament led them to be coined "the diplomat and the barbarian."New York Observer: "Battle of Milsteins: Old Brothers Clash, As Do Grown-Up Boys" By Andrew Rice
May 29, 2000 In 1964, they completed their first large real estate development, the 34-story, 680-unit Dorchester Towers on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

. Circle Floor Company was sold to

Kinney Parking Company Kinney Parking Company was a New Jersey parking lot company owned by Manny Kimmel, Sigmund Dornbusch, and mob figure Abner Zwillman. History Kinney Parking Company was incorporated in 1945 by Manny Kimmel. In 1961, Kinney reached an agreement ...

(then run by Steve Ross) in 1964 for $15 million while Paul remained as manager of the unit 1971. In 1974, the Milsteins entered the mining and energy sectors, acquiring

United Brands Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce. The company operates under a number of ...

, the parent company of Chiquita Bananas, after the suicide of its owner Eli M. Black. In 1981, the Milsteins stripped the

New York Biltmore Hotel The New York Biltmore Hotel was a luxury hotel at 335 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel was developed by the New York Central Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and operated from 1913 to 1981. ...

down to its steel structure and reclad the frame in granite, despite the building's landmark status and concerted protests by preservationists, in order to fashion a new headquarters for Bank of America.New York Times: "Retaining Order to Block Biltmore Demolition Expires
August 19, 1981 In 1986, the Milsteins acquired the

Emigrant Savings Bank Emigrant Bank (formerly Emigrant Savings Bank) is a private American financial institution. It is the oldest savings bank in New York City and it was the ninth-largest privately owned bank in America in 2012, with assets of $8.1 billion. As of June ...

, which they built into the largest privately owned bank in the country. In 1986, they founded Liberty Cable Co. In 1989, the Milstein family acquired Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives residential real estate brokerage from Edwin J. Gould and Lawrence O. McGauley. They hired new brokers and expanded its geography from the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

to the entire city. At the time of purchase Douglas Elliman had 10% of the New York City brokerage market and managed 15,000 apartments. His nephew,

Howard Milstein Howard Philip Milstein (born May 15, 1951) is an American businessman. Milstein is chairman, president and chief executive officer of New York Private Bank & Trust and its operating bank, Emigrant Bank. Emigrant is the country's 9th largest privat ...

served as Chairman for ten years and built the brand to a 40% share of the brokerage market and over 50,000 apartments managed. Douglas Elliman was sold to

Insignia Financial Group Insignia Financial Group was a company that invested in apartments that were financially distressed, with the goal of increasing value via recapitalization. It was founded and controlled by billionaire Andrew L. Farkas and was headquartered in ...

in two transactions for a total sum of $85 million: the management division was sold in 1995 and the brokerage division was sold in 1999. Howard and his father Paul did not inform Seymour about the transaction indicating that they were not required to do so as their side of the family had an aggregate 60% ownership of the partnership (20% by Paul Milstein and 10% with each of Paul's children). This led to a deterioration of the relationship between the two elder brothers, eventually leading to litigation and the unwinding of their long business partnership. Through various family controlled entities, the Milsteins built or bought residential properties with more than 50,000 apartments, 8,000 hotel rooms and of office space.Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation: "CETV Profile of Howard P. Milstein"
October 26, 2012

Philanthropy

Milstein funded the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center at

NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

/Columbia Medical Center. Milstein was on the board of the then Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and remained through the 1998 merger with New York Hospital. Seymour Milstein's early insights into the critical importance of interferons led him to

Sidney Pestka Sidney Pestka (May 29, 1936 – December 22, 2016) was an American biochemist and geneticist. A recipient of the National Medal of Technology, he is sometimes referred to as the "father of interferon" for his groundbreaking work developing the in ...

, one of the scientists at the forefront of interferon research and an active member of the former ISICR (International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research), now known as the ICIS
International Cytokine & Interferon Society
Milstein's interest in fostering continued investigations in this emerging field, and his family's tradition of support for organizations dedicated to patient care and scientific research, motivated him and his wife Vivian to establish The Milstein Awards in 1988, two years after interferon was first approved for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. The Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research, commonly known as The Milstein Award, recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to interferon and cytokine research, either in a basic or applied field. Many of these achievements have led to the advancement of human health. Milstein's son Philip continues to support this award, along wit
The Milstein Young Investigator Awards
which recognize the work of individuals who have made an impact on interferon and cytokine research early in their careers, an
The Milstein Travel Awards
which give those who may not otherwise be able to attend the Annual Meeting of the ICIS an opportunity to share the most current interferon and cytokine knowledge with peers around from the world.

Personal life and death

In 1945, Milstein married Vivian Leiner. They had two children: Constance Milstein, who is married to Saïd Abu-Kaud; and Philip L. Milstein, who is married to Cheryl Sue Glicker.
April 20, 1986 In 2001, Seymour Milstein died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Upon his death, the remaining partnership agreements between him and his brother were unwound.Forbes: "Kickin' Cousins - the death of a real estate mogul adds fuel to a family feud. It’s cheaper to play nice" by Joanne Gordon
November 26, 2001 The ownership structure underlying all the partnerships was set up with Paul and Seymour each with a 20% share; and the six nieces and nephews (the four children of Paul and the two children of Seymour) with 10% each. An acrimonious legal tussle resulted between the two sides of the family with Paul's side claiming majority control since the sum of their interest was 60%.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milstein, Seymour 1920 births 2001 deaths American bankers American billionaires American construction businesspeople American people of Russian-Jewish descent American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from New York City Jewish American philanthropists New York University alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Philanthropists from New York (state) 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews