Background

Alive was born into a family that had average income but they tried their best to provide a living for Alvin. Even though they were not millionaires, his parents had enough money to support Alvin through school and college. Not much is known about his parents but they worked hard at their jobs so that they could provide Alvin with a great education. They knew that there was something special about their son and they wanted to make sure that he had every chance to succeed and prosper.

In an interview with the Haute Living, Alvin described how it was growing up in St. Louis, “The early days in St. Louis were really two-fold. One of depravation and one of family love. Depravation in the sense of material depravation-our family was very poor, we lived in a poor neighborhood. But there was a really good camaraderie among all of us poor kids because we used to play in the alley, and chase street cars, and do all the goofy things that kids do. Our main sports activity was cork ball, which they never play today, but we used to play in the street. It was not dangerous; everyone’s front door was left open because there was very little crime or robbery back in those days. I came from a very musical family-they were immigrants from Russia, including my dad’s brothers-and we all lived in the same neighborhood and they spoke Russian and Yiddish more than they spoke English. There were a lot of Italians in the neighborhood who spoke Italian rather than English. It was very ethnic in that regard. But it was really a lot of fun, it was memorable.”

A big change in Alvin’s life happened during high school. His family had just moved from a four-family flat to the upstairs of a two-story flat. It was just a small improvement but it had a big impact on Alvin’s youth. He was exposed to different people that would change the course of his life, I met a new set of friends, and I finally met a lot of kids that were from a better economic situation than I was from, which really instilled a great desire to me to want to have that kind of a life and be able to acquire that kind of material benefits that those parents seemed to give those families.”

His parent had not yet bought into the American concept of living. They were isolated and living in a sheltered mindset. Alvin claimed that they were satisfied to stay in a lower economic class. They were content with their situation and relied on their children as safety nets. They expected that they could do just enough so that their children could go to school and eventually become doctors and lawyers that would bring money into the family.

Career

He started his career as an attorney but later moved on to the business side of things. He started buying and selling things such as companies and assets to make a profit. This process made him the man he is today. His excess wealth and profits made him a philanthropist who gives back to the society that he lives and works in.