Benjamin Winter

Benjamin Winter Sr. (February 5, 1881 – June 16, 1944)^[1] was a real estate developer in New York City and founder of Winter Incorporated.^[2] Winter served as president of the American Federation of Polish Jews.^[3]

Born in Łódź, Poland,^[1] to a Jewish family, Winter emigrated in 1901 to New York City, one year after his father.^[4][5][6][7] His father him took on a tour of Manhattan, showing him the lavish Vanderbilt and Astor houses which Winter was to eventually own.^[4][8] After saving for 12 years, in 1912,^[7] Winter used the proceeds as a painter of tenements^[9] to buy tenements in lower Manhattan.^[5] The following year, he and Scotch-Irishman Andrew O'Brien bought their first apartment building, in Washington Heights.^[7] The venture was successful and Winter soon after started his own company funded by his share of the profits and investors in the Polish Jewish community, he invested in mid-Manhattan where he targeted the great mansions of Fifth Avenue for redevelopment.^[5][10] In 1925, he purchased the Mrs. William B. Astor House and later demolished it;^[5] in 1929, it was replaced with the new Congregation Emanu-El of New York^[11] In 1926, Winter had previously purchased^[12] and sold the old Temple Emanu-El building at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street which was demolished and replaced in 1927 with a commercial building by its subsequent owner Joseph Durst.^[13][14][15] Also in 1925, he purchased the William K. Vanderbilt House and demolished it replacing it with a residential high rise.^[5][16][17] By tearing down the mansions, Winter along with fellow real estate speculator Frederick Brown, were credited with transforming that section of Fifth Avenue into "the aristocrat of shopping thoroughfares."^[18] In 1927, he formed Winter Incorporated and offered preferred shares on the New York Stock Exchange which enabled him to raise funds for larger projects.^[5] He went bankrupt in 1937 during the Great Depression losing his entire $40 million (equivalent to $0.6 billion in 2023^[19]) in wealth,^[20][21] although he recovered most of his wealth by his death in 1944.^[5][22]

He was known for having the ability to identify under-valued properties in up-and-coming neighborhoods, making a purchase, and then selling them later for a tidy profit.^[4] Within 20 years, he became the most prolific realtor in New York City with over $500 million sales.^[4][23] His portfolio of prominent properties came to include the Hotel Delmonico,^[24] the Stanhope Hotel,^[25] the Hotel Lenori,^[4] the Spanish Flats (which he later demolished),^[26][27] Bretton Hall,^[25] the Gunther Building,^[28] the Hotel Claridge,^[29] Hotel Hermitage,^[23] and many residential properties along Park and Fifth Avenues.^[4]

He was married to Dora Winter;^[30] they had five children.^[31][32] In the 1950s, his son Marvin turned the company from an opportunistic buyer and seller of real estate to a long-term holder.^[4][31] After Marvin's death, his sons Benjamin Winter and James Winter took over the family business.^[4][32][33] Later, Benjamin's son, David S. Winter, joined the business.^[34]