Real Estate: The Sad Saga of Big Bill

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Fast Financial Footwork. Since 1959, when his debts reached a staggering $104 million, Zeckendorf has kept Webb & Knapp alive by fast financial footwork. The company lost $19.6 million in 1962, $32.3 million in 1963. Zeckendorf has lost or sold all of his hotels, one to Goldman & DiLorenzo, partners in a fast-rising real estate firm (TIME, March 12) that has bought other Zeckendorf buildings and is thriving on Webb & Knapp's decline. He also launched a number of money-raising operations. This year, in a complicated series of transactions based on the sale of a promising and diversified company affiliate, he reduced Webb & Knapp's liabilities by $13 million to $32 million. The sales, however, further weakened the company's position. Says President William Zeckendorf Jr., 38: "When you reduce your debts, you sell assets. This leaves you with very little with which to generate new deals."