Motor Company was the only car maker in the world. At its height, Corm's business empire, all folded into "Charles Corm and Co.", was the first and largest multinational in the Middle East, employing thousands of men and women from Turkey to Iran. His enterprises became the livelihood of thousands of families and contributed to developing the infrastructure and networks of roads, railways and bridges in countries that had not yet even come into being. In 1928 he designed Ford Motor Company's Middle East Headquarters, later to be named "The Corm Building and Gardens", with no formal architectural training. The building was erected in 1929 in Beirut, later becoming the Corm family home. It was the Middle East's first skyscraper and highest standing structure in Lebanon until 1967. , long before that term had come to carry its modern social and ideological "activist" connotations, the building's 14,000 m2 gardens (the largest private gardens in Beirut) contain a variety of artistic and archaeological relics as well as exotic trees and rare plants. His wealth made, the man who had been referred to as "the reluctant tycoon" decided to devote his life to literature and philanthropy on the occasion of his 40th birthday. Philanthropist Corm helped finance several Lebanese state buildings and entities including the Lebanese Parliament, the National Museum, the National Library and other state and cultural landmarks at a time when the nascent Lebanese state lacked funds, freshly independent from its French mandate status. He also personally financed the Lebanese pavilion at the 1939 World Fair in New York City, for which Mayor LaGuardia made him Citizen of Honor of New York City, the highest distinction given out by the city. Corm's close friend Said Akl noted: "Charles not only was a guiding force behind Lebanon’s independence, he also helped lay Lebanon’s constitutional foundations and spent his own money building the political, social and cultural landmarks needed to support our vision of Lebanon. During those years, it seemed very clear to me that Charles did not care much about money. Rather, a deep sense of commitment to what he loved had rewarded him with outstanding success in both business and literature." Personal life Charles Corm was born in 1894 in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of the famous Lebanese painter Daoud Corm (sometimes Anglicised as "David Corm"). He graduated from the Oriental Faculty at Saint Joseph University with high honors. At