Robert W. Gottfried (May 15, 1926 – May 26, 2007) was an American home builder, developer and real estate entrepreneur whose signature French Regency-style residences remain sought-after, highly prized addresses in world-famous Palm Beach, Florida. A prolific, visionary builder and design aficionado, he created more than 500 luxury homes which made an enduring imprint on the area. About 400 of his homes were built in the wealthy island town. Early life The son of Florence Ward and William Gottfried, Robert was born in Queens, New York. His father operated a residential construction business creating homes and vacation cottages on Long Island. In 1954, at the age of 28, young Gottfried moved to Palm Beach to work with an uncle. Career and Family The first house he built was of brick, in the 200 block of Wells Road. His client was prominent Chicago industrialist Rudolph W. Glasner, an Austrian immigrant who held patents for his inventions in machine parts for the automotive industry. Glasner and Gottfried formed a partnership and purchased an entire block in the island's North End. Their $90,000 investment led to the creation of 16 homes on what would become El Dorado Lane. Gottfried had already opened a design center in West Palm Beach. He branched out, adding a marble factory, mirror factory and a company to produce specialty moldings. Aiming to expand further, he formed a development company, and Robert W. Gottfried Inc. was incorporated in 1955. From the time he moved to Palm Beach, he never lived in a house he did not build. "I got to know how a house should work that way, what works and what doesn't," he said in an interview. As an indication of his pride in his work, the exteriors of his houses built in the 1970s and '80s had a bronze plaque stating, "Built by Robert W. Gottfried Inc." Heeding local architect Clarence Mack's observation about the advantages of having a specialty, Gottfried recalled the elegant lines of buildings he had seen in Paris. Thus, he chose Regency to dress up the vernacular of architecture in Palm Beach—where the style and palette had been dominated since the 1920s by Mediterranean-Revival. Gottfried intuited the market correctly, as "Gottfried Regency" became a recognized brand within the first decade, with buyers drawn to high ceilings and clean classical lines. Dovetailing the trend, designers at Benjamin Moore paints mixed a custom hue known