Generational Journeys and Real Estate Dynamics in the Altman and Gibstine Families

Key Insight

The Altman family's deep-seated connection to commerce and real estate began with Jerry's great-grandfather, Harry Altman, who fled the Russian Empire in 1904. He and his wife, Birdie, a formidable businesswoman, eventually purchased a store in Nicholls, Georgia. Birdie later pioneered real estate ventures in Brunswick, buying and selling properties and establishing 'Altman's Shoes,' which became a thriving business. This legacy continued with Jerry's father, Jack Altman, who became a prominent shoe designer in St. Louis—a major center for the American shoe industry—and co-founded Deb Shoe Company, manufacturing fashionable women's shoes based on European designs and expanding to 3 factories.

Connie Gibstine's family also had significant entrepreneurial and real estate roots. Her grandfather, Herman Gibstine, immigrated from the Russian Empire in 1893. After initial success in the millinery business, a fire causing up to $50000 in damages led to bankruptcy and legal troubles over alleged fraud, resolved by family intervention. Herman subsequently transitioned into real estate, co-founding Haffner and Gibstine Real Estate in St. Louis. He focused on selling bungalows in neighborhoods that would later experience white flight—areas that Jerry Altman, his future grandson-in-law, would later strive to revitalize.

Both Jerry and Connie were raised in affluent St. Louis suburbs, but their childhood experiences influenced distinct career paths. Jerry, whose father, Jack, was a workaholic shoe manufacturer, gravitated towards public service and affordable housing, distancing himself from his father's intense business focus. Connie, whose father, Marvin, was a physician with a scientific inclination, pursued medicine, becoming a dermatologist who valued practical impact and work-life balance. Their family histories, marked by entrepreneurial drive and involvement in real estate, converged when they married, eventually leading them to attend law school together in Chicago while raising their growing family.