Reichmann family

2025-07-15T03:59:04Z

2600:4040:942C:1500:D47:85A4:B6E:89CD: /* Family tree */

{{Short description|Jewish Canadian family}}
{{Infobox family
| name = Reichmann family
| native_name = משפחת רייכמן
| native_name_lang = he
| origin = [[Beled]], [[Hungary]]
| country = [[Canada]]
| members = {{plainlist|
* [[Edward Reichmann]]
* [[Albert Reichmann]]
* [[Paul Reichmann]]
}}
| properties = Reichmann International Development, [[Olympia and York]], [[Canary Wharf]]
}}

The '''Reichmann family''' ({{Langx|he|משפחת רייכמן}}) is a [[History of the Jews in Canada|Jewish-Canadian]] family best known for their property empire built through the [[Olympia and York]] company.

At the family's peak, their combined wealth was estimated at $13 billion making them the fourth-richest family in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2003-06-07|title=Rival bidders moving in on Canary Wharf|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/jun/07/3|access-date=2021-09-28|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> The family's fortunes eventually waned, particularly with the ill-fated [[Canary Wharf]] development, which saw the family business file for bankruptcy in 1992 with debts of $20 billion. The family's wealth partially recovered, reaching roughly $2.3 billion in 2018.<ref name = canadianbusiness>{{Cite news|title=Canada's Richest People: The Reichmann family|work=Canadian Business|url=https://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/richest-people/rich-100-reichmann-family/}}</ref>

== History ==
The Reichman(n)s were originally from the small town of [[Beled]], [[Hungary]], but the ambitious '''Samuel Reichmann''' moved the family to [[Vienna|Vienna, Austria]], in 1928 where he became a successful merchant.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Reichmann Family {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reichmann-family|access-date=2021-09-19|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> He and his wife Renée had six children:
* Eva Reichmann ([[Maiden and married names|married name]] Heller; 1923–1984)
* [[Edward Reichmann]] (1925–2005)
* Louis Reichmann (1927–2005)
* [[Albert Reichmann]] (1929–2022)
* [[Paul Reichmann]] (1930–2013)
* Ralph Reichmann (b. 1933)
* Ezriel Reichmann - not related to above family

During the [[Second World War]], the family fled first to [[Paris|Paris, France]], and then to the neutral city of [[Tangier|Tangier, Morocco]], in the 1950s.<ref name = canadianbusiness/> There, Samuel became a prominent business leader specializing in the currency trade. Renée became a renowned humanitarian aiding victims of the [[Holocaust]], arranging food parcels to be delivered through the Spanish Red Cross to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] such as [[Theresienstadt family camp|Theresienstadt]] and [[Auschwitz-Birkenau]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=1997-01-20|title=Faith And Fortune|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1997-01-19/faith-and-fortune|access-date=2021-09-28}}</ref><ref name="cjnews">{{Cite web|last1=Gindin|first1=Matthew|last2=Correspondent|first2=Pacific|date=2017-08-18|title=Billionaire businessman never veered from religious observation|url=https://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/opinions/paul-reichmann-billionaire-businessman-never-veered-religious-observation|access-date=2021-09-28|website=The Canadian Jewish News|language=en-US}}</ref>

Although they thrived in Tangier, the family left to avoid the turbulence of [[Moroccan independence]]. Eva moved to [[London]], and Edward went to [[Montreal]], where in 1955, he founded [[Olympia and York|Olympia Flooring and Tile Company]] to import European [[tile]]s. The success of the company, along with the country's large [[History of the Jews in Canada|Jewish population]], soon brought the rest of the family to Canada in 1956.

Louis joined Edward in Montreal while Albert, Paul, and Ralph settled in [[Toronto]], where they first expanded Edward's tile business but then moved into construction and property development. Samuel was the leader of this business that became known as York Developments. Albert and Paul played a secondary but central role, while Ralph remained in charge of the tile business. In the late 1960s, Edward's Montreal business was faltering and on the verge of collapse. He was only saved from ruin by a bail-out from his younger brothers in Toronto. Embarrassed at this turn of events Edward left Canada for [[Israel]].

In 1969, the family incorporated [[Olympia & York]] (O&Y), a [[Privately held company|privately-held]] real-estate company entirely controlled by the family; in 1976, the company began operations in the US.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reichmann Family {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reichmann-family|access-date=2021-09-28|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref>

Over time, through successful projects in Toronto and New York, O&Y became the largest [[property development]] and management firm in the world in the 1980s, and the Reichmanns one of the world's richest families.<ref name = canadianbusiness/><ref name="cjnews" /> (At the family's peak, their combined wealth was estimated at $13bn, making them the fourth-richest family on the planet.)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Adams|first=Richard|date=2003-06-07|title=Rival bidders moving in on Canary Wharf|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/jun/07/3|access-date=2018-11-11|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> Holdings of O&Y included [[First Canadian Place]], the [[World Financial Center (Manhattan)|World Financial Centre]] in Manhattan, and [[Canary Wharf]] in London.<ref name = canadianbusiness/> In 1980, they bought English Property Corp, one of the largest British developers. In 1981, they bought [[Abitibi-Price|Abitibi-Price Inc]], the world's largest newspaper producer, for $502 million; and in 1985, they acquired the majority interest in [[Gulf Canada Resources]], in the second-largest takeover in Canadian history.<ref name=":1" />

Throughout this time, the family remained strongly committed to their [[Haredi Judaism]].<ref name="cjnews"/>

In the early 1990s, the business empire and family's fortune was brought low by the Canary Wharf project in London. In 1987, British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], who had seen the transformation of the World Financial Centre, enlisted Paul to transform the docklands of Canary Wharf into a financial powerhouse.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Saviour of the docklands|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2013/11/02/saviour-of-the-docklands|access-date=2020-08-04|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> This project proved catastrophic, as banks were reluctant to move three miles east of the [[City of London]]. By 1992, O&Y declared [[bankruptcy]] in the biggest corporate failure of all time—with debts of $20bn—and the Reichmann fortune was greatly reduced.<ref>{{Cite web|title=THE MAN WHO BLEW $10 BILLION It's not every real estate developer who can boast of losses on the grand scale of Paul Reichmann. In a rare interview he admits that ''the blame is all mine.'' But that's right where it belongs. - May 17, 1993|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1993/05/17/77850/index.htm|access-date=2020-08-04|website=money.cnn.com}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Reichmanns Rebound {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reichmanns-rebound|access-date=2021-09-19|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref>

In 1997, Albert's son Philip Reichmann and Paul’s son-in-law Frank Hauer relaunched the company as ''O&Y Properties Inc.'' and bought back First Canadian Place. Reichmann and Hauer sold their company in 2005.<ref name = canadianbusiness /><ref name=":4" /> Since then, the family has continued to be involved in tiles and stone, retirement care, and real-estate development deals around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tributes after death of Canary Wharf developer|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/10408017/Tributes-after-death-of-Canary-Wharf-developer.html|access-date=2021-09-28|website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>

In 2019, descendants of the family donated US $5 million to the Tangier Holocaust Memorial.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fortin |first=Jacey |date=2019-12-12 |title=Family Behind Krispy Kreme Donates Millions to Holocaust Survivors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/world/europe/reimann-family-holocaust.html |access-date=2025-05-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Family tree ==
{{Tree list}}
* Samuel Reichmann (1898 – 1975), m. Renée

** Eva Reichmann Heller (1923 – 1984)
** [[Edward Reichmann]] (1925, [[Beled]], [[Hungary]] – July 2005, [[Israel]])
** Louis Reichmann (b. May 5, 1927, Beled, Hungary – May 25, 2005), m. 1951 to Marika (b. 1933, [[Békéscsaba]], Hungary)
*** Charles Reichmann
*** Andre Reichmann
*** Golda Gross
** [[Albert Reichmann]] (1929, [[Vienna, Austria|Vienna]], [[Austria]] – December 17, 2022, [[Toronto]], [[Canada]])
*** Philip Reichmann
*** David Reichmann
*** Bernice Koenig
*** Libby Gross {{circa|}}
** [[Paul Reichmann]] (September 27, 1930, Vienna, Austria – October 25, 2013, [[Toronto]], [[Canada]]), m. 1955–2013 to Lea Feldman<ref name="cjnewsb">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/opinions/paul-reichmann-billionaire-businessman-never-veered-religious-observation|title = Billionaire businessman never veered from religious observation|date = 18 August 2017}}</ref>
*** Rachel Reichmann, m. Frank Hauer
*** Barry Reichmann
*** Libby Reichmann
*** Vivian Reichmann
*** Henry Reichmann
** Ralph Reichmann (b. 1933, Austria)
*** Abraham Reichmann

{{circa|}}

{{tree list/end}}

== See also ==
* [[Reichmann]]
* [[Oberlander Jews]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/article/reichmann-family Reichmann family: Paul, Albert, Ralph] at ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]''

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Bianco |first1=Anthony |title=The Reichmanns: Family, Faith, Fortune, and the Empire of Olympia & York |date=1997 |publisher=Times Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8129-3063-0}}

[[Category:Reichmann family| ]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in construction]]
[[Category:Business families]]
[[Category:Israeli businesspeople]]
[[Category:Canadian business families]]
[[Category:Canadian businesspeople]]
[[Category:English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Jewish-Canadian families]]
[[Category:Israeli families]]
[[Category:Austrian families]]
[[Category:Hungarian families]]
[[Category:Jewish Hungarian history]]
[[Category:Oberlander Jews]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Reichmann family