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Toronto developer made and lost a family fortune building gleaming office towers on unwanted spaces

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The Reichmann brothers, from left to right: Abert, Paul and Ralph in 1965. Paul Reichmann was one of five brothers who emigrated to Canada in the 1950s from Tangier, Morocco.

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Nov. 4, 1987. Britain's Trade Secretary Lord Young (left), looks on as Paul Reichmann, joint chief executive of Toronto based Olympia & York, puts his signature on the first pile to be driven at Canary Wharf development in London's Docklands. At the time, it was the single largest construction project Britain had ever seen.The Canadian Press

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Canadian property developer Paul Reichmann (left), Sir Roy Strong and Michael Dennis, right, unveil a model of the proposed Canary Wharf project in 1988. The project included London's tallest skyscraper.Reuters

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Brian Mulroney (left) and Paul Reichmann in London, England, March 13, 1989. Mr. Reichmann’s most ambitious bet was on London’s desolate docklands. Instead of urban decay he saw a sprawling complex of modern skyscrapers.Ron Polling/The Canadian Press

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Paul Reichmann, right, at Abitibi-Price annual meeting in Toronto, May 19, 1981. Mr. Reichmann acquired the Uris portfolio of buildings in lower Manhattan in 1977 when the city was nearly bankrupt.Dennis Robinson/The Globe and Mail

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Paul Reichmann, left, in conversation with David Ward, partner in Davies Ward and Beck, solicitors, at Abitibi-Price annual meeting in Toronto, May 19, 1981.Dennis Robinson/The Globe and Mail

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Mexico City Mayor Manuel Camacho Solis, left, meets with Paul Reichmann, Nov. 10, 1993, in Mexico City where they announced three major projects for Mexico City worth more than $1-billion (US). This would be Mr. Reichmann's first major project since London's ill-fated Canary Wharf.Jose Luis Magana/The Associated Press

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From left, Paul, Albert and Ralph Reichmann in Toronto, May 19, 1981. In the 1960s Paul and his brother Albert ventured into real estate development with Olympia & York Developments Ltd.Dennis Robinson/The Globe and Mail

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Paul Reichmann in 1985. Mr. Reichmann has been described as a very private person, partly because of his orthodox Jewish beliefs.John McNeill/The Globe and Mail

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