Larry Silverstein

Larry A. Silverstein (born May 30, 1931) is an American real estate developer and the founder and chairman of Silverstein Properties, Inc., a firm specializing in the development, investment, and management of commercial properties. Born in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Silverstein built his career through strategic acquisitions and developments in New York City, including office towers, residential complexes, and mixed-use projects totaling nearly 16 million square feet. His most prominent endeavor involved securing a 99-year lease on the 10.6 million-square-foot World Trade Center complex from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in July 2001 for an estimated $3.2 billion, marking the largest real estate transaction in the city's history at the time. Following the destruction of the complex in the September 11 attacks mere weeks later, Silverstein pursued extensive insurance claims, ultimately receiving settlements that enabled the reconstruction of modern skyscrapers on the site, including One, Three, Four, and Seven World Trade Center. This project, fraught with legal disputes over insurance interpretations—particularly whether the two plane impacts constituted one or two occurrences—highlighted Silverstein's role in reshaping Lower Manhattan's skyline amid debates over liability, recovery costs, and urban redevelopment.

Larry Silverstein was born on May 30, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish family. His father, Harry G. Silverstein, was a classically trained pianist who primarily worked as a commercial real estate broker, leasing manufacturing spaces in areas such as SoHo.