Stephen Leopold

Last updated
Stephen Leopold
Born (1951-11-15) November 15, 1951 (age 72)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Education Selwyn House School
Alma mater McGill University

Stephen Leopold (born November 15, 1951) is a Canadian real estate businessman.

Contents

Early life and education

He was born in Montreal, Quebec. His father was the late Irwin Leopold, a Montreal businessman, and developer. Irwin Leopold initiated the development of Westmount Square in Montreal, a complex of residential and commercial buildings that formed "a city within a city," was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

In Leopold's early years, he attended Selwyn House School, a private school and Westmount High School. He later graduated with honors from McGill University in Montreal, and attended the McGill University Faculty of Law but never graduated.

Career

In Canada

In 1973, while still at the McGill Faculty of Law, he became an investigator on the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities (Senator Sam Ervin's Watergate Committee, or The United States Senate Watergate Committee).

In 1975, Leopold's visibility lead to his appointment as Executive Assistant to Brian Mulroney during Mulroney's 1975-1976 bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Mulroney would later become Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. In Mulroney's personal autobiography published in 2007, and titled Brian Mulroney - Memoirs: 1939-1993 ( ISBN   978-0-7710-6536-1). Mulroney refers to humorous travel times with Leopold, and calls Leopold "an energetic and affable young Montrealer".

Following his initial foray into politics, Leopold began, what would ultimately become, his career in real estate.

After the campaign ended, Leopold returned to real estate and became Vice President of Canada's largest mortgage bank, Marcil Trust which was subsequently acquired by the Royal Bank of Canada, and now forms part of RBC Capital Markets.

In 1977 Leopold formed Leopold Properties. The firm subsequently renamed Leopold Property Consultants, became one of the largest [ citation needed ]companies in North America to represent only tenants. As a result, Leopold and his company represented some of North America's leading companies and professional firms in the development of new office buildings to house their tenancy. These included such Montreal landmarks as 1001 de Maisonneuve Blvd for Aetna Insurance. In May 1986, while representing Coopers & Lybrand (today PricewaterhouseCoopers), Clarkson Tetrault (today McCarthy Tétrault), and Claridge Investments (the holding company for the descendants of the late Samuel Bronfman), Leopold inspired the redevelopment of one of downtown Montreal's most important heritage sites, The Windsor Hotel. His leadership in the real estate industry, coupled with his well-publicized association with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–1993), brought Leopold into the spotlight in the Canadian press. He used this prominence to take controversial public stands. In 1984, as a leader of Montreal's anglophone community, Leopold proclaimed that notwithstanding the threat of the Quebec sovereignty movement, the hydroelectric power resources of Quebec would always sustain it as a vibrant economy. Controversial at times, in 1985, he publicly questioned where large pension funds were investing in Montreal, asserting that it was foolish to invest in areas without easy public transportation. In 1986, he led the first Canadian business boycott against the apartheid policies of South Africa at a luncheon hosted by Canada's premier luncheon club, The Canadian Club which featured the head of the Canada-South Africa Trade Committee. In 1989 Leopold was featured in Vista Magazine, a national monthly publication in an article titled "Stephen Leopold - Owner, Leopold Property Consultants - Kingpin of Canadian Real Estate".

Upon his return to Montreal in 2010 The Globe and Mail , Canada's national newspaper ran a full page story titled “Real Estate Royalty comes home” stating “He's as close as it comes to real estate royalty in the city even though he was gone for almost two decades”. [1] La Presse, Quebec's leading newspaper, called him “the living legend of the real estate industry” (la <<legende vivante de l’industrie immobiliere>>). [2]

In 2012, Leopold founded AudaCité Montréal, a not-for-profit organization composed of Montréal business leaders ],to mobilize public opinion to support the creation of an iconic bridge to serve as the replacement of the structurally-unsound Champlain Bridge . [3]

In New York City

In 1993 Leopold relocated to New York City to pursue large scale property development in Manhattan. One of Leopold's largest development transactions included conceiving and creating nearly two acres of food courts in the World Trade Center. Leopold later sold his interest in the World Trade Center projects shortly before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Leopold has served on the Boards of Directors of the University Club of Montreal, the Edmonton Art Gallery, Ruby Foo's Restaurant and Hotel, the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, the Canadian Guild of Crafts, and the Board of Governors of the Roosevelt Institute which in partnership with the National Parks and the National archives is responsible for the maintenance of the birthright grounds, home and Presidential library of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In 2012, Leopold was one of the 100 "experts" in Donald Trump's book The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies ( ISBN   0-307-20999-7).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island of Montreal</span> Island in Quebec, Canada

The Island of Montreal is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelaga Archipelago at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Charest</span> Premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012

John James "Jean" Charest is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, he was a member of Parliament (MP) between 1984 and 1998. After holding several Cabinet posts from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1993, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998.

George Carlyle Marler, was a politician, notary and philatelist in Quebec, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Johnston</span> Canadian economist, lawyer and politician (1936–2022)

Donald James Johnston, was a Canadian lawyer, writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-European to head that organization. From 1978 to 1988, Johnston was a Liberal Party member of the Canadian parliament and served in the cabinets of prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. In addition, he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 1994. Johnston was an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an Officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1000 de La Gauchetière</span> Office skyscraper in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1000 de la Gauchetière is a skyscraper in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named for its address at 1000 De la Gauchetière Street West in the downtown core. It is Montreal's tallest building as per the height definition of the National Building Code of Canada that is used by the city of Montreal, which excludes spires. For international comparison, spires are included as per the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's most widely used height definition for building height and the building is thus the second tallest building as per this definition. It rises to the maximum elevation approved by the city at 232.5m above mean sea level with a total height from the average ground level around first floor to roof of 205m (673ft) and 51 floors. A popular feature of the building is its atrium, which holds a large ice skating rink. The building was not subject to the 1992 municipal maximum height of 200m because it was finished in 1992.

Michael Arthur Meighen, is a Canadian lawyer, cultural patron, and former senator. He practised as a litigation and commercial lawyer in Montreal and Toronto. He is a grandson of Arthur Meighen, the ninth Prime Minister of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Gonthier</span> Canadian Supreme Court judge

Charles Doherty Gonthier, was a Puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Canada from February 1, 1989, to August 1, 2003. He was replaced by Morris Fish.

Gerald "Gerry" Weiner, is a Canadian politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ville-Marie, Montreal</span> Borough in Quebec, Canada

Ville-Marie is the name of a borough (arrondissement) in the centre of Montreal, Quebec. The borough is named after Fort Ville-Marie, the French settlement that would later become Montreal, which was located within the present-day borough. Old Montreal is a National Historic Site of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media in Montreal</span>

Montreal has a large and well-developed communications system, including several English and French language television stations, newspapers, radio stations, and magazines. It is Canada's second-largest media market, and the centre of francophone Canada's media industry.

Alan Bernard Gold was the chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court from 1983 to 1992.

Paul J. Massicotte is a Canadian Senator representing the Senate division of De Lanaudière, Québec. He was appointed to the Senate on June 26, 2003 on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. On October 30, 2017, he joined the Independent Senators Group caucus. He had previously sat with the Senate Liberal Caucus. Massicotte sits on the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce and the Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Château Champlain</span> Hotel building in Montreal, Quebec

The Montreal Marriott Château Champlain is a skyscraper hotel located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, overlooking Place du Canada, at 1050 De la Gauchetière Street West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westmount Rugby Club</span> Rugby team

The Westmount Rugby Football Club is a Canadian rugby club based in Westmount, Quebec.

The Champlain Mall is a shopping mall located in Brossard, Quebec, Canada at the intersection of Taschereau Boulevard and Lapinière Boulevard. Champlain Mall is named in honour of Samuel de Champlain but references the Champlain Bridge that was built 13 years prior to the mall's opening.

Nigel Spencer is a writer, translator, and professor of English living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has thrice received the Canadian Governor General's Literary Award for translation, in 2002, 2007, and 2012. He was also awarded a 'Proclamation of Recognition' by President Lansana Conté of the Republic of Guinea.

René G. Lépine was a Canadian real estate developer and philanthropist. Lépine was the chairman of Groupe Lépine, a real estate development and investment firm he founded in 1953. He is widely considered one of the most influential French Canadian real estate developers of his time. His companies developed over $5 billion of real estate in Canada and the United States since the 1960s. He also owned a portfolio of multifamily and retail properties in Montreal and Ottawa. Lépine developed many buildings considered landmarks in Montreal, including the Olympic Village and Le Sanctuaire du Mont-Royal. Lépine is also credited with having developed the first condominiums in Montreal in 1981.

Daniel Fournier is a Canadian businessman in the province of Quebec. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, from June 2010 to October 2019. He has also run for the Canadian House of Commons and written on Canadian federalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westmount Summit</span> Summit of Mount Royal in Quebec, Canada

Westmount Summit is one of the three peaks of Mount Royal located in the City of Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Part of the geographical summit is located adjacent to the Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald J. Savoie</span> Canadian public administration and regional economic development scholar

Donald Joseph Savoie is a Canadian public administration and regional economic development scholar. He serves as a professor at l'Université de Moncton. In 2015, he was awarded the Killam Prize for his contribution to the field of social sciences.

References