Seymour Milstein
Seymour Milstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 2, 2001 (aged 81) |
| Occupation(s) | Real estate entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Real estate development, philanthropy, Milstein Properties |
| Spouse | Vivian Leiner (m. 1945) |
| Children | Constance Milstein, Philip L. Milstein |
Seymour Milstein (July 21, 1920 – October 2, 2001) was a prominent American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Early life and education
Born into a Jewish household in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, Milstein was the son of Morris Milstein, an immigrant from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. Morris founded Circle Floor Company, Inc., a wood flooring enterprise, in 1919. In 1945, he expanded his business ventures by launching the Mastic Tile Company, specializing in vinyl floor tiles.
Milstein completed his studies at New York University in 1941 before joining his father’s Mastic Tile Company, where he assumed the role of president in 1955. Meanwhile, his brother, Paul Milstein, took over as president of Circle Floor Company in 1961. The Mastic Tile Company was sold to Ruberoid for $24 million in 1959. Circle Floor broadened its scope to include floor tiles, acoustical ceilings, and drywall construction, securing contracts for iconic New York City sites such as Rockefeller Center, the United Nations Building, as well as John F Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport. By 1966, Circle Floor had become the nation’s largest subcontractor specializing in floor, wall, and ceiling installations.
Career
In the late 1950s, Seymour and Paul Milstein established Milstein Properties to venture into real estate development. Paul took on the role of the assertive negotiator and public face of the company, while Seymour operated as the strategic financier behind the scenes; this dynamic earned them the nicknames "the diplomat and the barbarian." Their first significant project was completed in 1964—the 34-story Dorchester Towers on the Upper West Side, comprising 680 residential units. That same year, they sold Circle Floor Company to Kinney Parking Company for $15 million; Paul continued managing it until 1971.
Between 1964 and 1973, Seymour chaired Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center. The family diversified their holdings in 1974 by acquiring United Brands—owner of Chiquita Bananas—after the former proprietor passed away. In 1981, despite opposition from preservation advocates, they redeveloped the New York Biltmore Hotel into Bank of America’s headquarters. By 1986, their portfolio included Emigrant Savings Bank, which they expanded into America’s largest privately held bank, alongside founding Liberty Cable Co.
The Milsteins purchased Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives residential brokerage from Edwin J. Gould and Lawrence O. McGauley in 1989. Initially focused on the Upper East Side with a 10% share of New York City’s brokerage market managing 15,000 apartments, under nephew Howard Milstein’s decade-long leadership as chairman, Douglas Elliman expanded its market presence to cover all five boroughs and managed over 50,000 apartments. The brokerage was sold to Insignia Financial Group through two transactions totaling $85 million: management services in 1995 and brokerage operations in 1999. This sale occurred without Seymour’s awareness due to internal family ownership divisions, which caused tensions between Seymour and Paul and eventually led to litigation that dissolved their business partnership.
Through family-controlled ventures, the Milstein group developed or acquired more than 50,000 residential units, approximately 8,000 hotel rooms, and around 20 million square feet of commercial office space.
Philanthropy
Milstein played a pivotal role in establishing the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center. He was a board member of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and maintained his position after its 1998 consolidation with New York Hospital.
Recognizing early on the significance of interferons, Seymour Milstein supported Sidney Pestka, a pioneer in interferon studies. Inspired by this commitment and his family’s passion for advancing medical research and patient care, Milstein and his wife Vivian founded The Milstein Awards in 1988, soon after interferon gained approval for treating hairy cell leukemia.
The Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research, commonly known as The Milstein Award, celebrates exceptional achievements in interferon and cytokine research that contribute to improving human health. Philip Milstein, Seymour’s son, continues to back this honor, along with The Milstein Young Investigator Awards, which acknowledge promising early-career scientists, and The Milstein Travel Awards, designed to facilitate wider attendance at the ICIS Annual Meeting.
Personal life and death
In 1945, Seymour Milstein wed Vivian Leiner. They had two children: Constance Milstein, who is married to Saïd Abu-Kaud, and Philip L. Milstein, married to Cheryl Sue Glicker.
Seymour Milstein passed away from pneumonia in 2001. After his passing, the partnership agreements between him and his brother were dissolved. The ownership was reorganized so that Paul and Seymour each held 20%, while their six children—four from Paul’s family and two from Seymour’s—each received a 10% stake. This restructuring sparked a legal conflict as Paul’s faction asserted control with a claimed 60% majority ownership.