Ben Tobin (November 8, 1903 – June 7, 1996) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and investor in Broadway shows.New York Times: "Ben Tobin, 92, Investor in Hotels And in Real Estate" by Wolfgang Saxon
June 16, 1996Sun Sentinel: "Ben Tobin, Bought Or Built Notable Broward Buildings - Russian Immigrant Created A Real-estate Empire During Depression" by David Nitkin
June 9, 1996

Early life

Tobin was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

while he was still a child. He had two brothers, Morris Tobb and Jack Tobb and one sister, Bessie Ganek. His family moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in the 1920s.

Career

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Tobin purchased buildings in Detroit and then expanded to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where he purchased the Hollenden Hotel. In 1945, Tobin moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and purchased the 900-room Hollywood Beach Hotel in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, which had been used by the United States Navy as a barracks and developed it into a five-star international resort until it closed in 1971. In 1951, he formed a partnership with Alfred R. Glancy and Roger L. Stevens and purchased the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

for $51 million, then the highest price paid for a single building in history; he more than doubled his investment when he sold his interest in the building three years later to a Chicago partnership. In 1953, together with Roger L. Stevens, Alfred R. Glancy III, and H. Adams Ashforth, he founded Unico Properties to develop a 10-acre

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

site in central

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Tobin then ventured on his own and founded Ben Tobin Companies Ltd., which developed the Hillcrest Country Club in Hollywood, Florida as well as one million square feet of shopping centers in five states. He also financed numerous Broadway plays including ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

.'' In 1962, his son, Herbert A. Tobin, joined the company.Tobin Properties: "OUR STORY"
retrieved April 15, 2017 In 1991, Herbert's son, Jason L. Tobin, joined the company. Jason is now the President of Tobin Properties. As of 2017, Tobin Properties owns over one and a half million square feet of property throughout the Southeastern United States.

Philanthropy

Tobin was a major benefactor to Jewish philanthropies: he was a founder of Mount Sinai Hospital in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, the State of Israel Bond Organizations (who awarded him the Freedom Medal of Israel by the State of Israel Bonds Organization); and was a fellow of

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

(where a dormitory bears his name). He was also the founder of the Jewish Federation of South Broward and Temple Beth El in Hollywood, where he was a member. He founded the Ben Tobin Foundation which was a major benefactor to Channel 2 WPBT, Miami-Dade County's public television station, and to the Lowe Art Museum at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

Personal life

He was married to Jeanette Tobin having two children Herbert Tobin, Steven Tobin and then to Iris Maxwell having a daughter Benita Tobin Anderson. He died on June 7, 1996, at his home in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Ben 1903 births 1996 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent American businesspeople in real estate 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews