Larry Mizel

After being in development for more than 21 years, the new Museum of Tolerance-Jerusalem (MOTJ), co-founded and chaired by Mizel, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2023. The three-acre, $260 million MOTJ campus straddles the West Jerusalem city center and the Old City. According to their website, the MOTJ will "celebrate the vibrancy of Israel’s democracy by promoting universal respect and co-existence and will deal with the vital issues of the 21st century." It includes a museum, children's museum, outdoor amphitheater, international conference center, social lab and gardens.

In a 2021 Jewish Insider article, the museum’s director of operations Jonathan Riss credited Mizel as “the driving force that has kept the project going through numerous hurdles.”

In 2019, Mizel helped fund Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ (D) inauguration committee.

At a Colorado Concern event in 2017, former Colorado senator Cory Gardner paid tribute to Mr. Mizel:

The Foundation restructured in 2016 and is currently a supporting organization of Lion Global Foundation.

In 2016, Mizel served as the Colorado finance chairman for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Colorado Branch of Volunteers of America (VOA) recognized Larry Mizel for his generosity to the VOA and other organizations by presenting him with the Humanitarian Award during the annual Western Fantasy gala at the National Western Event Center in 2016.

Mizel was then inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2016 by Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. A video of the presentation can be viewed on the Junior Achievement YouTube channel.

In 2014, Mizel was named the "15th Most Powerful Person" in Denver by the magazine 5280.

United States Senator Mark Udall paid tribute to Larry from the Senate Floor in 2012. The tribute is available in the Congressional Record. Senator Udall is quoted as saying:

Mizel received the Steve Ross Lifetime Achievement Award from the Milken Institute in 2011 and was named a Colorado State Patrol honorary colonel. He was also named the "7th Most Powerful Person" in Denver by the magazine 5280 that same year.

In 2010, Mizel was awarded the Ben S. Wendelken Special Trustees Award by Colorado's El Pomar Foundation for embodying the spirit of service and giving through his life's work.

Located in Denver, the CELL opened its facility in 2008 with the purpose of educating citizens on global terrorism threats. The CELL’s exhibit is interactive and provides visitors with an understanding of the history of terrorism, the methods terrorists employ and the terrorism’s effect on society.

The Kempe Foundation is a nonprofit that supports the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Mr. Mizel was named a Kempe community honoree in 2006, along with David Mandarich.

In 2005, the MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation donated $1 million to the National Homeland Defense Fund.

The MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation began supporting The Denver Posts' Season to Share program in 2005. Season to Share is an annual holiday fundraising campaign with a matching grant, the proceeds of which go to support local charitable organizations that support low-income children, families and adults moving out of poverty. By 2016, the MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation had contributed more $1.7 million for this cause.

In 2005, Mizel received the Defenders of Freedom award from the National Homeland Defense Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to securing freedom in the fields of homeland defense and security.

Mizel was a co-founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles based international human rights organization that promotes tolerance and combats racism and anti-Semitism around the world. He was the second to hold the position of International Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an appointment he held for 20 years. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is accredited as a non-governmental organization (NGO) at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. The center’s educational arm, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, received the 2004 Tolerance Award given at the United Nations.

Mizel also founded, as a part of the Mizel Museum and its larger umbrella organization, the Mizel Institute, the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (the CELL) in 2004. The CELL is a non-profit institution dedicated to preventing terrorism through education, empowerment and engagement. The CELL has been endorsed by former Secretaries of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff.

Mizel was also made an Honorary Colonel of the 88th Regiment of the Army for his creation of the Victims of Terror Fund in 2003.

In 2002, Mizel became a member of the board of directors of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch.

In 2001, Mizel was the recipient of the distinguished Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which pays tribute to the immigrant experience and individual achievement. Honorees are listed in the Congressional Record.

Larry A. Mizel is the Chairman of the MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation, which was established in 1999. Since inception, millions of dollars have been donated to organizations across the United States and abroad.

Mizel was also a founder of Asset Investors Corporation (AIC), a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust, and was a chairman of its board until 1996. He also sat on the board of Commercial Assets Inc. (CAX), a real estate investment trust, that traded on the American Stock Exchange. Until 1995, he was chairman of the board of directors of Omnibank, a multibank holding company, until its sale to KeyCorp.

He was also named Honorary Dean of the University of Denver's Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management in 1996.

Mizel was elected Chief Executive Officer of the company in 1988, a position he held until he assumed the role of Executive Chairman of the Board in October 2020.

In 1987, Mizel received the National Humanitarian Award from National Jewish Health, a global leader in the research and treatment of respiratory, immune and related diseases.

In 1982, Mizel and his wife, Carol, founded the Mizel Museum in Denver, Colorado. The museum provides regular artistic and educational programs that promote community understanding and tolerance for residents of the Rocky Mountain region. The Mizel Center for Arts and Culture (The MACC) is also named for Mizel, but is a separate organization located in Denver at the Jewish Community Center. The MACC illuminates the human experience through creative and cultural programs in the performing, visual, and literary arts for the Jewish Community and the community at large.

In 1972, Mizel founded the Mizel Development Corporation, which became M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC), a New York Stock Exchange-listed homebuilding company. MDC is the parent company of Richmond American Homes, which has homebuilding operations in 15 U.S. states. It is one of the few homebuilding-based companies to receive an investment-grade rating from all three rating agencies and is recognized as one of the top home builders in the United States. MDC was ranked 12 on the annual Builder 100 list published by Builder Magazine in 2021. Other MDC subsidiaries include HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Title and Escrow Company and American Home Insurance Agency, Inc.

Larry A. Mizel (born September 14, 1942) is an American business executive and philanthropist based in Denver, Colorado. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of MDC Holdings.

Larry A. Mizel was born to a Jewish family in 1942. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1964, and with a JD from the University of Denver College of Law in 1967.

The next year, he was awarded the title Honorary Irishman by the Ancient Order of Hiberians, a Catholic-Irish-American Fraternal Organization founded in 1836, for his work in supporting the heroes of the September 11 attacks in 2001.