Irwin Molasky
July 4, 2020 (aged 93)
Real estate developer, philanthropist
Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky (divorced)
Susan (Frey) Molasky
Steven Molasky
Andrew Molasky
Alan Molasky
Beth Molasky
Early life[edit]
Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family[1] on February 22, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri. Molasky moved with his family to Dayton, Ohio. He served in the United States Military after World War II.[2] His father ran an Ohio newspaper distribution business and managed several apartments.[3] Molasky went to a military high school and attended college and worked during summers as a teenager.[3] He attended Ohio State University and transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but did not graduate from either institution.[3] Instead, he worked his way up in construction.[3]
Real estate development[edit]
Molasky moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1951.[3] Soon after arriving he bought property and built an 18-room motel, The Pyramids.[4] With Moe Dalitz, Allard Roen and Merv Adelson, he founded Paradise Development, a real estate development company in the 1950s.[5] Together, they founded the Sunrise Hospital, the Boulevard Mall and the Las Vegas Country Club.[5] Later, they also developed the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California.[5]
Meanwhile, Molasky became the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies, a real estate development company.[6][7][8] He has built the first master-planned community, Paradise Palms and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, the 17-story Bank of American Plaza; and the Nathan Adelson Hospice.[3][6][7] Additionally, he helped find the right location for the McCarran International Airport and assisted with the land purchase for the Las Vegas Convention Center.[7] Moreover, he built the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters in Las Vegas,[9][10] the Social Security Administration building in Las Vegas, the Casa Grande Re-entry Facility for the State of Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Clark County Detention Facility.[8][11] Molasky also purchased the Regency Towers high-rise condominium tower after it went into foreclosure in the 1970s.[12] Molasky and Steve Wynn later built the Park Towers high-rise condominiums, completed in 2001.[13] In 2007, his company completed the Molasky Corporate Center in downtown Las Vegas. It is a green building used for office space, and is the only building by Molasky to use his name.[14]
Television production[edit]
With Merv Adelson and Lee Rich, he was a co-founder of Lorimar Productions, a conglomerate of television, broadcasting, and print companies.[7] He also served on its board of directors.[7]
Molasky admitted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he used the company as a "tax shelter."[15]
Equestrianism[edit]
Molasky owned racehorses with trainer Bruce Headley.[3] One of his horses was Kona Gold.[3]
Philanthropy[edit]
Molasky was a key figure in the development of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas through a donation of 45 acres (18 ha) of prime land at Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway.[6][7] He also served as the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation, the fundraising arm of the university.[16]
Molasky served on the board of directors of Project REAL, a non-profit organization that teaches "principles of democracy, law and the responsibilities of citizenship" to schoolchildren in Las Vegas.[17]
The Molasky Junior High School in Las Vegas is named in his honor.[18] Molasky was one of the founders of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.[19]
Molasky was married to Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky.[3] He then married Susan (Frey) Molasky.[3] He has three sons and a daughter, all of whom work at The Molasky Group of Companies:
Irwin & Susan Molasky Junior High School, a middle school in North Las Vegas, is named after the two Molaskys.
Molasky died of natural causes on July 4, 2020, at the age of 93.[2]