Irwin Molasky | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | July 4, 2020 | (aged 93)
Nationality | American |
Education |
Ohio State University University of California, Los Angeles |
Occupation(s) | Real estate developer, philanthropist |
Spouse(s) | Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky (divorced) Susan (Frey) Molasky |
Children | Steven Molasky Andrew Molasky Alan Molasky Beth Molasky |
Irwin Molasky (February 22, 1927 – July 4, 2020) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies.
Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family [1] on February 22, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri. Molasky moved with his family to Dayton, Ohio. He served in the United States Military after World War II. [2] His father ran an Ohio newspaper distribution business and managed several apartments. [3] Molasky went to a military high school and attended college and worked during summers as a teenager. [3] He attended Ohio State University and transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but did not graduate from either institution. [3] Instead, he worked his way up in construction. [3]
Molasky moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1951. [3] Soon after arriving he bought property and built an 18-room motel, The Pyramids. [4] With Moe Dalitz, Allard Roen and Merv Adelson, he founded Paradise Development, a real estate development company in the 1950s. [5] Together, they founded the Sunrise Hospital, the Boulevard Mall and the Las Vegas Country Club. [5] Later, they also developed the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. [5]
Meanwhile, Molasky became the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies, a real estate development company. [6] [7] [8] He has built the first master-planned community, Paradise Palms and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, the 17-story Bank of American Plaza; and the Nathan Adelson Hospice. [3] [6] [7] Additionally, he helped find the right location for the McCarran International Airport and assisted with the land purchase for the Las Vegas Convention Center. [7] Moreover, he built the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters in Las Vegas, [9] [10] the Social Security Administration building in Las Vegas, the Casa Grande Re-entry Facility for the State of Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Clark County Detention Facility. [8] [11] Molasky also purchased the Regency Towers high-rise condominium tower after it went into foreclosure in the 1970s. [12] Molasky and Steve Wynn later built the Park Towers high-rise condominiums, completed in 2001. [13] In 2007, his company completed the Molasky Corporate Center in downtown Las Vegas. It is a green building used for office space, and is the only building by Molasky to use his name. [14]
With Merv Adelson and Lee Rich, he was a co-founder of Lorimar Productions, a conglomerate of television, broadcasting, and print companies. [7] He also served on its board of directors. [7]
Molasky admitted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he used the company as a "tax shelter." [15]
Molasky owned racehorses with trainer Bruce Headley. [3] One of his horses was Kona Gold. [3]
Molasky was a key figure in the development of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas through a donation of 45 acres (18 ha) of prime land at Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway. [6] [7] He also served as the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation, the fundraising arm of the university. [16]
Molasky served on the board of directors of Project REAL, a non-profit organization that teaches "principles of democracy, law and the responsibilities of citizenship" to schoolchildren in Las Vegas. [17]
The Molasky Junior High School in Las Vegas is named in his honor. [18] Molasky was one of the founders of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. [19]
Molasky was married to Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky. [3] He then married Susan (Frey) Molasky. [3] He has three sons and a daughter, all of whom work at The Molasky Group of Companies:
Irwin & Susan Molasky Junior High School, a middle school in North Las Vegas, is named after the two Molaskys.
Molasky died of natural causes on July 4, 2020, at the age of 93. [2]