From the Lower East Side of New York where he grew up, to the philanthropic hotelier that he is today, Harris Rosen learned early on that having much is a gift, but the greater gift is sharing what you have with others.

Sitting down with this quiet, unassuming man, we asked Harris Rosen did he ever imagine that he would go from the inner city of New York's Hell’s Kitchen to owning seven hotels and helping to change people's lives?

“Of course there was hard work, of course there was getting a good education, spending time with Uncle Sam,” Rosen said. “And that was a great experience. But things have happened in my life for no apparent reason and so I know somebody has been guiding me. There’s no doubt in my mind."

As a man of great means, we had to ask why he does the things that he does for the people he does them for.

For Rosen, the answer was simple.

"About 25 years ago, sitting at my desk, and having a conversation with myself, which I do on occasion,” Rosen said. “I asked myself ‘are you pleased with where you are?’ We were building this property and already planning Rosen Center, and already dreaming about a larger resort. I said ‘yes’ and um and the little voice said ‘well now it’s time to give back.’"

And give back he did, creating the Harris Rosen Foundation, a philanthropic organization that provides funds for deserving organizations and initiatives. The foundation created the Tangelo Park Program, a disadvantaged, high crime neighborhood in Central Florida that he talks about like a proud father.

"It’s really quite astonishing what happens when you infuse in a neighborhood hope,” Rosen said. “And that’s what we did.  And now suddenly, a high crime area, Tangelo Park had a terrible reputation, um from a high crime area. Crime is down 55 (to) 60 percent. Graduation rates from high school about 45 (to) 50 percent are now 100 percent in the last seven years. Listen to this. Of the 100 percent of kids that graduate from high school, 77 percent go on and graduate from college."

Tangelo Park is always on his mind. Traveling to Atlanta, he talked with the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“And I said ‘may I have a dream also?’ And she said ‘yes, of course,’” Rosen said. “And I said ‘my dream is that every disadvantaged, every low-income neighborhood have a Tangelo Park program. And I think it will just transform America.’"

Rosen transformed the way his associates, as he calls them, receive health benefits. He realized early on that self-insuring his staff would not only cut costs, but also provide superior service and care at a much lower rate than the national average.

"Today we have a 13,000-square-foot facility, state-of-the-art,” Rosen said. “We have almost 5,000 covered lives. I spent last year on health care almost $16 million. If you're sick and you work for me and you're in the hospital, most you'll pay is $500."

In an industry known for its high turnover rate, Harris' associates only register single digits.

Family is an integral part of Harris' life.  In a restaurant named after his father, more than 170 caricatures line the walls all done by his father, who had NO formal training.

They're of famous people his father met while working at the Waldorf in New York and a good many of them are signed.

"People appreciate the fact that we do care and respect our associates with education plan, free scholarships, with our health care program and with our profit sharing program and a multitude of things that we do, and I think they're proud of that," Rosen said.