Lawrence and Mae Wien
Lawrence Arthur Wien was a lawyer, a pioneer in real estate, and a leading philanthropist.
A New York City native, he graduated from Columbia University in 1925 and earned his law degree from Columbia Law School two years later. He founded the Manhattan firm that is now known as Wien & Malkin.
Wien conceived and implemented the first real-estate investment syndications. In 1931, he and three partners each put up $2,000 each to buy a small apartment house in Harlem. Wien went on to organize syndicates that controlled more than $5 billion worth of real estate.
His groups held ownership on New York City landmarks such as the Empire State Building and the Lincoln Building, and major hotels, including the Plaza, the St. Moritz, and the Lexington.
Wien was best known, however, for his support of philanthropic causes. In a 1982 interview, he said that since he had already provided a degree of security for his family, “I decided to have the fun of giving my money away.”
In 1958, Wien and his wife, Mae (Levy), established the Wien International Scholarship Program, which has brought 802 students from more than 100 countries to Brandeis.
Since its inception, the program has been guided by a commitment to furthering international understanding, providing foreign students an opportunity to study in the United States, and enriching the intellectual and cultural life at Brandeis.
Wien served as a Brandeis trustee from 1957 until 1984, and was chair of the board from 1967-71. In 1956, he commissioned the statue of the University’s namesake, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, which looks out over the campus. The Wiens also funded the Wien Faculty Center and the Wien Chair in International Cooperation.
He last visited the Brandeis campus in October 1988, two months before his death, for the 30th anniversary celebration of the Wien Program. He delivered an emotional address from a wheelchair to more than 100 Wien Scholars and family members gathered to pay tribute to him.
Wien also generously supported and led Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Columbia University (where he was a trustee), New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, WNET-Channel 13, and the Institute for International Education.
In 1978, he founded the Committee to Increase Corporate Philanthropic Giving, and within 2 ½ years convinced the nearly 300 companies in which he owned shares to increase their giving by about $300 million a year.
He also served on the boards of a number of public corporations, including Consolidated Edison, Borden, Morse Shoe, and the United Nations Development Corporation.
Wien and his wife were married for 57 years before her death in 1986.
Some of the material in this story first appeared in The New York Times.
