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Estate
mogul dies at 95
San Francisco - Walter Shorenstein (right), founder of the real-estate Shorenstein Co.
that ownes 130 buildings and 28 million square feet of office space
nationwide  , has died. He was 95.
The net worth of Shorenstein and his family was $1 billion in March 2009. A major promoter of the Democratic Party, Shorenstein advised Presidents Lyndon Johnson,
Jimmy Carter, Bill
Clinton
(left), Vice President Walter Mondale, senators and heads of state. In 1993
Shorenstein
and Mikhail Gorbachev established the Gorbachev Foundation in San
Francisco. Shorenstein was the "kingmaker" in San Francisco.
Shorenstein was born in 1915 in New York, son of a
clothier. His uncle, Hyman Shorenstein, was a political kingmaker in New York during the early 20th
century .
During World War II, Mr. Shorenstein was stationed in North Africa, managing supplies and logistics for troops in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Shorenstein’s real estate career began in 1946 in San Francisco. He came under heavy criticism for his role in a nine-year battle that ended with the 1979 destruction of the International Hotel on Kearny Street, which had housed many elderly Filipino
residents. In 1991, Shorenstein's executive secretary for 1o years sued him for sexual harassment, alleging that he molested her more than 100 times over a seven-year
period, before she was unfairly fired. Shorenstein did not respond to the complaint publicly. It was settled out of
court, with terms that were kept
confidential.
Shorenstein made multi-million-dollar gifts to the Jewish Community Federation.
His wealthy daughter, Carole Shorenstein Hays, is an American theatrical producer,
drawing on her father's real estate fortune. A memorial service in his honor will be held at 11a.m. on Monday, June 28 at Temple Emanuel in San
Francisco
.
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