Levi Leiter

Levi Ziegler Leiter was a Chicago businessman and partner of Marshall Field who co-founded what became the Marshall Field and Company retail empire.

In 1865, Leiter and Field bought into a small dry goods business run by Potter Palmer. When Palmer left the company in 1867 to pursue real estate ventures, the company was renamed Field and Leiter. The two men built a six-story store on State Street in 1868. It was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. When Leiter retired from the company in 1881, the name was changed to Marshall Field and Company.

When Leiter immigrated to the US from England, he is supposed to have only been worth $50. He was a multi-millionaire when he died.