Sheldon Solow, billionaire real estate developer, dies at 92

Sheldon Solow, a Brooklyn-born college dropout who became a real estate billionaire by developing architecturally distinctive high-rise buildings in Manhattan, has died. He was 92.

He died Tuesday at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York after a month-long battle with lymphoma, according to Mia Fonssagrives Solow, his wife of 48 years.

Solow was best known for the 50-story office tower at 9 West 57th Street in Manhattan. A black building with upwardly sloped glass sides, it offered unbroken views of Central Park and was marked with a large red sculpture in the form of the number 9 on the sidewalk in front of its main entrance. The skyscraper’s tenants include hedge funds, private equity firms and luxury goods giant Chanel.