Word: zeckendorfs
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Remember Judge Roy Hofheinz? He's Houston's one-man answer to P.T. Barnum, William Zeckendorf and Clint Murchison-the developer extraordinary whose projects always seem to start with a thud, then prosper with a vengeance. His Astrodome, for example. Hailed as "the Eighth Wonder of the World," the air-conditioned stadium began with a clear plastic roof. Baseball players lost fly balls in the glare, so the dome was painted. Then sunlight could not reach the grass, which withered, so artificial turf was laid down. Now everybody is happy...
Died. Marion Griffin Zeckendorf, 62, second wife of Manhattan real estate Wheeler-Dealer William Zeckendorf; in the so far inexplicable (clear weather, no apparent mechanical difficulty) crash of an Air France Boeing 707 while landing at the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, killing all 63 aboard. A gracious Georgia lady who professed never to understand her husband's operations (though some of his properties were in her name), she devoted herself to charity, raising funds for everything from ballet to the A.S.P.C.A...
...Schine holdings, worth an estimated $150 million, brought the value of Wien and Helmsley's coast-to-coast collection up close to $900 million, three times that of the spread controlled by William Zeckendorf at his apogee six years ago. Says Helmsley: "We know of no private investors whose holdings are larger than ours...
...company also picked up some problems along the way. Instead of sticking to acquiring existing real estate with a minimum of cash and a maximum of imaginative borrowing, Zeckendorf pushed Webb & Knapp into such unfamiliar enterprises as hotel management, urban renewal and building construction. By 1960, he had $500 million in construction projects under way. When costs began to skyrocket beyond his original estimates, Zeckendorf was unable to pay them. He began mortgaging his assets, borrowed money at excessive interest rates, some higher than 20%. He answered his critics by saying: "I'd rather be alive at 18% than...
Fast Financial Footwork. Since 1959, when his debts reached a staggering $104 million, Zeckendorf has kept Webb & Knapp alive by fast financial footwork. The company lost $19.6 million in 1962, $32.3 million in 1963. Zeckendorf has lost or sold all of his hotels, one to Goldman & DiLorenzo, partners in a fast-rising real estate firm (TIME, March 12) that has bought other Zeckendorf buildings and is thriving on Webb & Knapp's decline. He also launched a number of money-raising operations. This year, in a complicated series of transactions based on the sale of a promising and diversified company...