Lewis Rudin

Born to a Jewish family in The Bronx to May (née Cohen) and Samuel Rudin,[4] he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1944, and the New York University School of Commerce after serving as a sergeant in the Army during World War II. Along with his brother he joined the family real estate holding, Rudin Management Company, which had been founded by his grandfather Louis Rudinsky, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, who initially worked as a grocer [1] before establishing the family's real estate business in the 1920s. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Rudin family was one of the most prolific builders of skyscrapers in Manhattan.[5] In 1975, after the death of his father, Lewis and his brother Jack took over the family company.[6] Jack focused on construction and operations while Lewis focused on financing and marketing.[7] In 1990, the Rudin Management portfolio was valued at $1.5 billion.[8]

His son William and nephew Eric succeeded him running the company. William C. Rudin also became chairman of the Association for a Better New York, founded by his father[9] in 1971.[10] In 2014, he was elected chairman of The Real Estate Roundtable, of which he was a founding member.[10]

The Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is to honor his financial gift to New York University.[11]

Rudin was married three times. His first wife was Gladyce Largever.[12][13] They had two children, Beth Rudin DeWoody (b. 1952) and William Rudin.[1] His ex-wife Gladys remarried to film executive David Begelman.[14] His second wife was Wilhelmina model Basha Szymanska.[15] His third wife and widow was Rachel (Weingarten) Rudin.[1]

• Seymour P. Lachman, Mr. New York: Lew Rudin and His Love for the City (SUNY Press, 2014)