Albert A. Robin*

The son of an immigrant who built apartment buildings, Al Robin was born in 1912 in Chicago. During the Great Depression, his father lost all the family's money. Determined to start over, Robin and his father opened a shoe store together. They were barely able to salvage their original investment, however, and subsequently sold the store.

Robin worked for a real estate firm until he was able to start his own business in 1935. His first job for his Robin Construction Company was to build a fence for $125. During the 1940s, the business progressed to developing and remodeling retail stores for many of the large chain stores throughout Chicago and the Midwest.

After World War II, Robin became involved in every phase of real estate development and in building single-family homes, apartment complexes, nursing homes, and shopping centers.

An avid art collector, Robin contributed $1.5 million to the Art Institute of Chicago to endow a new contemporary art gallery. The Museum of Contemporary Art also benefited from his philanthropy with a $1 million gift. He also established the Albert A. Robin Campus at Roosevelt University in Schaumburg, Illinois.