REAL-ESTATE DEVELOPERS AND “THE UPPER CLASS”

Note: This article has an intro piece: Supply and Demand


The earth is not dying, it is being killed by real-estate developers and the upper class, and these developers and individuals have names and addresses.

This list of eco-terrorists will look at builders and also the upper class, those people whose extraordinary personal consumption ridicules the idea of sustainable development and who, through their control of our social institutions, set the behavioral standards that are imposed on the general public and through which the latter contribute to ecological destruction as well. However, we will not list the wealthy person-by-person; instead, we will focus on their lifestyle suppliers, of their homes, clubs and resorts.

The largest builders in the US are listed below. (source: www.builderonline.com) More than anyone, they are responsible for suburban sprawl. Many of these companies also construct luxury homes, but such exploitation is a niche industry in its own right. To find the leading such developers near you, search on luxury or custom homes together with your state or nation.

- Centex Corp., 2728 N. Harwood, Dallas, TX, 75201; 214-981-5000; www.centex.com
Laurence Hirsh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

- Lennar Corp., 700 N.W. 107th Av., Miami, FL, 33172; 305-559-400; www.lennar.com
Leonard Miller, Chairman; Stuart Miller, President and CEO

- Pulte Corp., 33 Bloomfield Hills Pkwy., Suite 200, Bloomfield Hills, Mich, 48304; 248-433-4597; www.pulte.com
William J. Pulte, Chairman

- D.R. Horton, 1901 Ascension Blvd., Suite 100, Arlington, TX, 76006; 817-856-8200; www.drhorton.com
Donald R. Horton, Chairman; Donald J. Tomnitz, Vice Chairman, President and CEO

- KB Home, 10990 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90024; 310-231-4000; www.kbhome.com
Bruce Karatz, Chairman, President and CEO

- Ryland Group, 24025 Park Sorrento, Suite 400, Calabasas, CA, 91302; 818-223-7500; www.ryland.com
R. Chad Dreier, Chairman, President and CEO

- NVR, 7601 Lewinsville Rd., Suite 300, McLean, VA, 22102; 703-761-2000; www.nvrinc.com
Dwight C. Schar, Chairman and CEO

- Beazer Homes, 5775 Peachtree, Dunwoody Road, Suite B-200, Atlanta, GA, 30342; 404-250-3420; www.beazer.com
Brian C. Beazer, Non-executive Chairman; Ian J. McCarthy, President and CEO

- M.D.C. Holdings, 3600 S. Yosemite St., Suite 900, Denver, CO, 80237; 303-773-1100; www.richmondamerican.com
Larry Mizel, Chairman, President, and CEO; David Mandarich, President and COO

- K. Hovnanian Enterprises,10 Hwy. 35, POB 500, Red Bank, NJ, 07701; 732-747-7800; www.khov.com
Kevork S. Hovnanian, Chairman; Ara K. Hovnanian, President

- Toll Brothers, 3103 Philmont Av., Huntingdon Valley, PA, 19006; 215-938-8000; www.tollbrothers.com
Robert L. Toll, Chairman and CEO

The industry's greenwash trade group is the National Association of Homebuilders. They are having a Custom Builder Symposium, October 25-27, at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona (www.nahbexpos.com). Also of note is the 7th Annual Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate Conference, September 22-24, at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California (www.luxuryrealestate.com/conference).

The other “perks” of the upper class include clubs, such as “country” clubs, and spas and resorts. For the first, one premise of capitalism is that for nature to be enjoyed it must be controlled. (Similarly, for Christianity wild nature is sinful and must be tamed.) The preferred pastime under the capitalist system (which in the modern context has Christian roots) is golf, which takes place in a castrated environment and which also provides the privacy required for planning corporate crime.

For the second, many of the world’s most idyllic locations are being destroyed to build new spas and resorts. The most beautiful beaches, islands and mountain and rain forest settings are being ruined, and their life forms killed. Through this these habitats, which formerly could also be appreciated by the general public, have been stolen by the rich.

As an example, Koh Chang, a large rain forest-covered island in eastern Thailand, is now being developed. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visited it and envisioned a new Phuket. As a result, the island, which is supposed to be a protected national park, is undergoing massive destruction with new roads and resorts. At one, Aiyapura Resort and Spa Hotel, owned by the PM’s Deputy Secretary-General, Lt. General Preecha Wannarat, a large coral reef was blasted to form a bay and construct a pier. But to its new and wealthy visitors, it is “pristine.”

This article does not have room to list golf course designers and developers and luxury spas and resorts. They are easily locatable, though. The wealthy may hide their money in offshore bank accounts, but through their tendency to group they are easy to find, and identify.

Society took a large step forward when it recognized that the inheritance principle for political power was invalid, that such power should not be passed from father to son. But we have yet to draw the same conclusion regarding economic power, that great wealth should not be inheritable. Furthermore, since commerce in most nations is inseparable from government, the first step has either never been achieved, or it has been reversed. Economic power is used to buy, and perpetuate, political power.

We must achieve wealth parity. There are easy ways to accomplish this (taxation) and hard (revolution). For those individuals who would protect their privilege, which in the vast majority of cases worldwide has been built on the proceeds of crime, they should recognize that throughout history all great contributions of wealth have ultimately been “redistributed.”

The Earth is not dying, it is being killed, and the people who are killing it have names and addresses.