Millard Seldin (August 8, 1926 – January 24, 2020) was an American real estate developer, banker, basketball investor, and horsebreeder.

Life

Seldin was born on August 8, 1926 in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

. His father, Ben I. Seldin, an immigrant from Russia, founded Seldin Insurance Co., acquired motels in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, and developed 17 apartment complexes and four shopping centers. Seldin served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

for two years, and he graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

in 1951. Seldin co-founded Seldin and Seldin with his father Ben when he was still in college. He later founded Seldin Development and Management Company, a real estate development and management company in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, where he built many structures including the Royalwood Office Center, Camelot Village and Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. Seldin also co-founded the Hawkeye Bank in Iowa. In 1990, he co-founded

Southwest Value Partners Southwest Value Partners (SWVP) is an American privately held real estate investment company. It is headquartered in San Diego, with an office in Scottsdale, Arizona, US. SWVP was founded in 1990 by Robert Sarver and Millard Seldin; Sarver re ...

, another real estate development company in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

with

Robert Sarver Robert Gary Sarver (born October 31, 1961) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and RCD Mallorca. Early life and educati ...

. Seldin was also a minority owner in

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

, two basketball teams. As a horsebreeder, Seldin owned Love Lock, Pretty Greeley, Golden Yank, Cherokee Lord, Dr. Hugs, and Greeley's Conquest. He was named the Nebraska Horse Breeder of the Year by the

Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The United States, American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred Horse racing, rac ...

in 1988. With his wife Beverly, Seldin had two sons, Scott and Derry, and a daughter, Traci Moser. He resided in Omaha, Nebraska and Paradise Valley, Arizona, where he died on January 24, 2020, at age 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seldin, Millard 1926 births 2020 deaths People from Council Bluffs, Iowa People from Paradise Valley, Arizona People from Omaha, Nebraska United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Russian-Jewish descent American racehorse owners and breeders American real estate businesspeople American sports owners University of Iowa alumni Businesspeople from Iowa Businesspeople from Nebraska Businesspeople from Arizona