In 1980 Larry Silverstein won a bid to lease and develop the last undeveloped parcel from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build 47-story 7 World Trade Center.

During the 1990s, New York was suffering from the effects of Black Monday (1987) leading to high vacancy rates at the World Trade Center. George Pataki became governor of New York in 1995 on a campaign of cutting costs including privatizing the World Trade Center. A sale of the property was considered too complex, so it was decided by the Port Authority to open a 99-year lease to competitive bidding.

In January 2001, Silverstein, via Silverstein Properties and Westfield America, made a $3.2 billion bid for the lease to the World Trade Center. Silverstein was outbid by $50 million by Vornado Realty, with Boston Properties and Brookfield Properties also competing for the lease. However, Vornado withdrew and Silverstein's bid for the lease to the World Trade Center was accepted on July 24, 2001, seven weeks before the buildings were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. This was the first time in the building's 31-year history that the complex had changed management. Despite not being the owner of the buildings, was the sole beneficiary of the insurance indemnity payments

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NY Fed told AIG to Withhold Swap Info from Public - AIG was the insurance company who covered the WTC 1, 2, and 7 with Terrorists Insurance. The Terrorist Insurance Policy was written three weeks before 911. The Towers had never had Terrorist Insurance written on them before. If the president had announced that 911 was an "Act of War," the Insurance would not have paid, but since the President immediately announced it was an "Act of Terror" it was covered. AIG has recouped its Terrorist Policy Payout from 911 with 180 Billion dollars in bailout money from American taxpayers.

The lease agreement applied to World Trade Center Buildings One, Two, Four and Five World Trade Center, and about 425,000 square feet of retail space. Silverstein put up only $14 million of his own money. Silverstein was also given the right to rebuild the structures, should they be destroyed.

2001 July 24:  Despite the WTC being unprofitable, corroded and insulated with asbestos that could not be cost effectively removed, Larry Silverstein acquires a 99-year lease for WTC 1, 2, 4 and 5 for $3.2 billion using only $14 million of his money with the right to rebuild the structures, should they be destroyed, even by an act of terrorism. An act of war, which would normally preclude a pay-off..

9/11: Larry Silverstein is absent from his office on the 88th floor of the North Tower because of a "doctors appointment" and his two kids, Roger and Lisa, are also absent from the office, because they were "running late."  "After a last-minute breakdown in the front-running bid, Mr. Silverstein’s team won by a hair. His son, Roger, and his daughter, Lisa, were working for him in temporary offices on the 88th floor of the W.T.C. north tower. Regular meetings with tenants in the weeks immediately following their July 26, 2001, takeover of the building were held each morning at Windows on the World. But on Sept. 11, Roger and Lisa Silverstein were running late. Meanwhile, Mr. Silverstein’s wife of 46 years had laid down the law: The developer could not cancel an appointment with his dermatologist, even to meet with tenants at his most important property. If the * *attack had happened just a little later, Mr. Silverstein’s children would likely have been trapped at Windows. As it was, Silverstein Properties lost four employees in the attack, two of whom had just recently been hired." - New York Observer (03/13/03) [Reprinted:  wirednewyork.com]

In total, Silverstein was awarded nearly $5 billion in insurance money following the destruction of the Twin Towers [from Chubb Corp., Swiss Reinsurance Co., Lloyd's of London, German Alliance Corp., ACE Ltd and XL Capital Ltd]. He plans to use some or all of the settlement to rebuild [modern, profitable buildings without asbestoes insullation].

Silverstein's lease with the Port Authority for the World Trade Center requires him to continue paying $102 million annually in base rent.

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Conspiracy theorists cite the 2002 PBS documentary America Rebuilds, in which Silverstein said: "We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is pull it. And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse."

See http://www.silversteinproperties.com/

2006 December: Larry Silverstein is awarded $5.5 to 7 billion in insurance payments for a tidy profit of at least $5.486 billion thanks to the efforts of Michael Mukasey.