World Wide Group is a real estate investment firm. Originally founded in the 1940s as an import/export company and a decade later as the first American distributor of Volkswagen, World Wide Group has since focused its business primarily on developing high-rise luxury apartment buildings. The companys approach to real estate acquisitions is to treat each project as a stand-alone business venture, which has allowed it to develop or invest in several profitable buildings. All told World Wide has developed more than $7 billion in real estate, from industrial sites during its early years to luxury residences currently. Among its most notable properties are Worldwide Plaza in Midtown, City Lights in Long Island City, and 71 Broadway in the Financial District. It also has been one of the developers focused on redeveloping Greenpoint in Brooklyn, paying $103 million in 2016 for a rental property (the highest price tag up until that point in the history of the neighborhood). In 2014 World Wide unveiled its condo building at 252 East 57th Street, and the following year sold six contiguous Upper East Side parcels at 143-161 60th Street.