Name Naseeb Saliba | Died May 22, 2008 | |
Naseeb Michael Saliba (Nov 03,1914 – May 22, 2008) was a construction mogul and philanthropist. He was born in Ozark, Alabama to Lebanese immigrants, and later moved to Los Angeles, California with his family. In 1942, he founded N.M. Saliba Co., which became one of the most successful heavy construction companies on the West Coast. Following a brief retirement, he co-founded the Tutor-Saliba Corporation with Ronald N. Tutor 1972. Tutor-Saliba Corp. is responsible for constructing many of California's largest infrastructure projects and landmarks having completed over $15 billion in projects . In 1994, the United States Army Corps of Engineers awarded him its National Contractor of the Year award for civil works projects. In 1997, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. His philanthropic contributions have supported many charitable organizations including Pepperdine University, University of Southern California, St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, CA, Desert Hospital in Palm Desert, CA. St. Jude and the University of Balamand in Lebanon. In addition, he was a Trustee for many organizations including the Antiochian Orthodox Church of North America where he has received the Antonian Gold Medal Award which is the highest award that can be bestowed upon layman by the Church. By his death in 2008, the Tutor-Saliba Corporation was ranked the 37th largest general contractor in the United States until merging with Perini Corp. in 2008 forming Tutor-Perini Corp. which is ranked among the world's leading construction and engineering firms.