HARRY MACKLOWE

Born in 1937 in New York City. Grew up in a middle-class family in New Rochelle.

Started in real estate in the 1960s, buying small buildings in Manhattan and converting them. Made his name in the 1980s with aggressive Manhattan development.

Infamously had the Hotel & Metropole on West 43rd Street demolished overnight on a holiday weekend in 1985 to avoid a preservation order — the city fined him $2 million but the demolition stood. Built the Metropolitan Tower on West 57th Street in 1987 — a sleek black glass residential tower that was ahead of its time.

Acquired the General Motors Building at 767 Fifth Avenue in 2003 for $1.4 billion — one of the most iconic office buildings in the world. Overleveraged massively during the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

Had to surrender 7 major properties including the GM Building to Deutsche Bank to settle $7 billion in debt. Lost essentially everything.

Came back and developed 432 Park Avenue — at 1,396 feet, the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere when completed in 2015. Apartments sold for $16 million to $95 million.

His divorce from Linda Macklowe in 2018-2019 resulted in a $2 billion settlement — one of the most expensive divorces in American history. Married Patricia Landeau shortly after.

Still active in his late 80s.

Macklowe Properties — his development firm, responsible for some of the most prominent buildings on the New York skyline. 432 Park Avenue — the iconic supertall residential tower on Park Avenue, designed by Rafael Viñoly.

One Wall Street — a 50-story Art Deco building being converted to luxury condos. The GM Building (767 Fifth Avenue) — owned from 2003 to 2008, lost in the financial crisis.

Metropolitan Tower — his 1987 residential tower on 57th Street. Various office and residential properties across Midtown Manhattan over five decades.

Harry Macklowe is a high-conviction, high-leverage developer who bets enormous sums on trophy properties in Manhattan. His style is the opposite of conservative — he buys the most expensive buildings he can find, finances them with as much debt as the banks will give him, and bets that the Manhattan real estate market will bail him out.

When it works, it works spectacularly (432 Park). When it does not, it is catastrophic (2008).

He has no diversification strategy. It is Manhattan or nothing, luxury or nothing, trophy assets or nothing.

He is a pure speculator in the truest sense — he bets on one of the most expensive markets in the world with maximum leverage.

432 Park Avenue. After losing almost everything in 2008, Harry Macklowe came back and built the most audacious residential building in New York City.

432 Park is 1,396 feet tall — a razor-thin concrete tower with 125 apartments, each with 12.5-foot ceilings and 10-by-10-foot windows. Apartments sold for between $16 million and $95 million.

The penthouse sold for $87.7 million. The building grossed over $3 billion in sales.

It became the most recognizable addition to the New York skyline in a generation. Critics called it a "glorified spreadsheet" for its grid-like facade.

Macklowe did not care. He had been counted out, bankrupted, and humiliated — and he built the tallest residential building in the hemisphere.

The 2008 crash and losing seven buildings at once. Macklowe had bought the Equity Office Properties portfolio of seven Midtown Manhattan buildings for $7 billion in early 2007, using a $5.8 billion short-term bridge loan from Deutsche Bank.

The plan was to refinance quickly. Then the credit markets froze.

He could not refinance. Deutsche Bank took the buildings.

He also had to sell the GM Building — which he had bought for $1.4 billion — to Boston Properties for $2.8 billion. The GM Building sale was technically profitable, but he was forced into it and lost the most iconic building in his portfolio.

The whole episode was a textbook case of overleveraging at the peak of a cycle.

Macklowe does not articulate philosophy — he operates on instinct and audacity. If forced to define it, his philosophy is that Manhattan is the most desirable real estate market on Earth, that it always comes back, and that the person who bets biggest wins biggest.

He has been proven both right and catastrophically wrong on this thesis in the same career. He believes in trophy assets — he would rather own one iconic building than ten average ones.

He believes in design — his buildings are architecturally significant, not generic glass boxes. And he believes in coming back — he has done it multiple times from near-total financial ruin.

Divorced from Linda Macklowe in 2018 after 58 years of marriage — the divorce settlement was approximately $2 billion, including splitting their art collection and real estate holdings. Married Patricia Landeau, a French-born businesswoman, in 2019.

Has children from his first marriage, including son Billy Macklowe, who is also in real estate development in New York. The family relationships were reportedly strained by the divorce and his rapid remarriage.

Attended New York University but did not complete his degree — he dropped out to go into real estate. Self-made in the truest sense.

No MBA, no fancy finance pedigree. He learned the business by doing it, starting with small building conversions in the 1960s.