Peter Lawrence Malkin

photo by djwerdna

His building may be one of the best-known in New York City but he remains surprisingly low-profile for a man of his stature. Peter Lawrence Malkin is a general partner for the Empire State Building. He has significantly changed the Manhattan skyline and much of the public doesn’t even know his name. Malkin has done a lot to improve the ambience of New York for businessmen by helping rid the streets of petty criminals, graffiti, taxi hustlers, and the homeless.

Malkin got into real estate with his father-in-law, Lawrence Wien, back in 1958. Wien was a pioneer in real estate syndications. Upon his death in 1988, he held stakes in over two billion dollars worth of property. One project that left no one in doubt about Malkin’s ability even after Wien’s death was his decision to stick with a large, vacant building. It now houses the City University Graduate Center and the Oxford University Press among others.

With regards to his dealings, Nicholas Fish, the chairman of the Community Board 5, said that “no one knows who this guy is, but scratch the surface and he’s everywhere.” Some might even say that Malkin is a bit of an eccentric, preferring to blend with suburban commuters because he doesn’t live in the city itself. Occasionally, you might see him pick up litter on the street because it offends his vision.

While he certainly doesn’t crave the spotlight, he recently has been thrust into a fray with Donald Trump. It started when Trump acquired a stake in the Empire State Building and criticized its management. Malkin deflected these accusations and said that the building was in great condition because of a recent $65 million investment for its improvement.