50 Companies That Changed the World by Howard Rothman

Author:Howard Rothman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 81-7992-326-6
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Like the suburbs he created, Bill Levitt had his ups and downs. He married three times, built more than 140,000 homes, and once parlayed $80 at a Caribbean craps table into a weeklong vacation for his entire entourage. He sold his company in 1968 to ITT for $92 million in stock, and built housing around the world. But poor business practices, changing tastes in housing, and his own lifestyle excesses eventually broke him. In 1993, at age 86, he lay dying in a hospital that he helped build…and didn’t have the money to pay for his care.

Levitt’s creations also ebbed and flowed with the times. Stringent “restrictive covenants” against outdoor clotheslines, unmowed lawns and the like, along with father Abe’s penchant for personally chiding homeowners who let their lots decline, have helped keep property values strong. Houses that originally sold for $7,990 were fetching $160,000 and more at the turn of the millennium. Families with plenty of young kids still choose to live there, but those aged 65 and older are now four times more prevalent than they were when Levittown opened. There also are twice as many single-family households as there were just three decades ago, and more per capita than in the rest of the county.

With virtually no industry, taxes remain high. And like similar communities across the United States, the schools face growing challenges and the employment possibilities are shifting. But oldtimers and newcomers alike remain happy that they put down stakes on roads like Pasture Lane. And a smattering of second-generation Levittowners (who eagerly fled town as soon as they reached adulthood) have even started trickling back to the area as they reach their thirties. Once dismissed and disparaged, their hometown remains an organic legacy to those who created it and those who gave it life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.