Ben Tobin (November 8, 1903 – June 7, 1996) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and investor in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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 largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the 1920s.

Career

During the Great Depression, Tobin purchased buildings in Detroit and then expanded to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

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

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and purchased the 900 room Hollywood Beach Hotel in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

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 Roger Lacey Stevens (March 12, 1910 – February 2, 1998) was an American theatrical producer, arts administrator, and real estate executive. He was the founding Chairman of both the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (1961) and the National ...

and purchased the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from " Empire State", the nickname of the ...

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

, Alfred R. Glancy III, and H. Adams Ashforth, he founded

Unico Properties Unico Properties LLC (formerly University Properties Inc) is an American private equity real estate investment and development company based in Seattle, Washington, focused on the north-west and west of the US. It was founded in 1953. As of Se ...

to develop a 10-acre

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

site in central

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. 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

plays including ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

.'' 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. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which s ...

, 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. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jews, Jewish community, Brandeis was established on t ...

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 American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

(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 WPBT (channel 2), is a PBS member television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It serves as the flagship station of South Florida PBS, which also owns Boynton Beach-licensed fellow PBS member WXEL-TV (channel 42, serving the West Palm ...

, Miami-Dade County's public television station, and to the

Lowe Art Museum Lowe Art Museum is the art museum of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Miami and is accessible by Miami Metrorail at University Station. Lowe Art Museum's comprehensive co ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

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 Jewish American philanthropists American people of Russian-Jewish descent American real estate businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews