David Shapell

David Shapell (February 4, 1921 – February 8, 2015) was American real estate developer and philanthropist born in Poland. He was a Holocaust survivor. He co-founded one of the largest real estate companies in Southern California. He supported Jewish charities in the United States and Israel.

Life
David Shapell was born as David Czapelski in Wolbrom, Poland. During World War II, he escaped Poland and fought in the Polish army under Soviet control. Most of his family were killed by the Nazis. Only his brother Nathan and one sister survived. After the war, he lived in Germany, and then moved to the United States.

Shapell first worked in a grocery store in Detroit with his brother Nathan. In 1955, they moved to Los Angeles. They co-founded a real estate company with their brother-in-law Max Webb. The company, called Shapell Industries, became one of the largest developers in Southern California. It was bought by Toll Brothers in 2013.

Philanthropy
Shapell gave money to the Israel Defense Forces and Jewish schools in Jerusalem. In 2006, he helped create the David and Fela Shapell Family Shoah and Heroism Study Center for Youth at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. He also supported the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem and Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. He was trustee of the Jewish human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. He donated $15 million to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

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Category:1921 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Category:American company founders
Category:Philanthropists from California