Larry and Lisa Silverstein 

The patriarch of the Silverstein family founded his firm in 1957. Since then he’s built it into one of New York City’s largest and best-known operators, and prepared it for the next generation to take the reins.

Silverstein founded the business as a partnership with Bernard Mendik, his then brother-in-law. The two split in 1976, in part because Larry wanted to focus on ground-up development.  

Since its founding, Silverstein Properties has developed and managed more than 40 million square feet of office, residential, hotel and retail space. That includes the 2.5 million-square-foot office tower at 3 World Trade Center, and a Robert A.M. Stern-designed luxury condo building at 30 Park Place. 

The firm competed for one of three casino licenses in New York, pitching a $7 billion facility at 41st Street and 11th Avenue, but the proposal was rejected. 

Larry was already 70 when he made the deal and experienced the disaster that would ultimately make his name. Silverstein bought the leasehold on the World Trade Center in July of 2001. The company then had to undertake its redevelopment after the 9/11 attacks. Silverstein built new structures on the site including 1, 3, 4 and 7 WTC, and in 2021, was tapped alongside Brookfield Properties to develop 5 WTC. The firm struggled for years to secure an anchor tenant to move forward with the office tower at 2 WTC, but reached a deal with American Express in February 2026.

His daughter Lisa took the helm as CEO in 2023, replacing longtime CEO Marty Burger. In the past year, the firm pulled out of a $2 billion development known as Innovation QNS to focus on its other pending projects, including 2 and 5 World Trade Center, as well as its now-dead casino bid.

— Kathryn Brenzel