The Rudin ownership philosophy began with Samuel Rudin's father, who purchased the family's first property at 153 East 54th Street in 1902. He advised the young Samuel Rudin to never sell the building and try to purchase all the property around it. Following his father's advice, Samuel Rudin would eventually acquire a majority of the properties surrounding 153 East 54th Street and, to this day, the building remains a cornerstone of the Rudin portfolio. The family went on to build an apartment building at 136 East 55th Street and an office building at 641 Lexington Avenue on this site.

As the Rudin passion for New York real estate grew, Sam and his brothers Edward, Henry and Nathan created the management and leasing company, Rudin Management Co., in the early 1920's to handle the management aspects of their growing portfolio. This simple principle of vertically integrating all aspects of real estate with a hands-on approach to management has attracted some of the world's most prestigious tenants to Rudin's residential and commercial buildings.