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The Empire State Building is the most famous building in the world. Its currently valued at $993 million. But I bet you didn't know that in 1961, a couple of crafty Jewish real estate entrepreneurs ran the first large syndication to buy the property. Lawrence Wein was born in New York City in 1905. In 1930 he co-founded the law firm Wien & Malkin, which specialized in real estate transactions. In 1960 he noticed that the Empire State Building was in trouble. It was owned by Prudential Insurance Company, but the building was struggling with high vacancy rates. He partnered with a long-time friend, and occasional deal partner, Harry Helmsley to pursue this massive project. Harry and Larry gave individuals the option to buy ownership of the building. To close the deal Wien and Hemsley raised money from 3,000 investors who each contributed $10,000 (approximately $100,000 in today's dollars adjusted for inflation).