King of Home builders: Larry Mizel gives back plenty--but he doesn't look back.

• Author: Titus, Stephen

In a sparsely decorated ninth-floor office in south metro Denver, Larry Mizel sits behind a stone-topped desk that is as big as he is. His dark suit is expertly fitted to his slight frame, and a postage-stamp-sized American flag beams from his lapel. His demeanor is so tranquil one might characterize it as the polar opposite of an excitable Donald Trump. You'd never know, speaking with him, that his company, MDC Holdings, reached an-all-time high in sales in 2003--$2.92 billion--and that sales of Richmond American Homes, his brand, were already hitting record numbers in the first quarter of 2004.

Mizel is at his peak. After financial and political setbacks that threatened an already substantial real-estate empire in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mizel has guided his company back to record sales and record earnings for each of the past five years. Along the way, he has also earned the abiding respect of business leaders and politicians in Colorado and nationally not only for the business acumen that built his empire, but for powerful fund-raising skills and a deep commitment to the worldwide Jewish community. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In 2003, Richmond American Homes posted a net profit of $212.2 million on the sale of 11,211 homes nationwide (about 2,500 in Colorado) with a backlog of 5,593 orders totaling $1.6 billion. Today the company is Colorado's largest builder of single-family homes, and one of the top 10 in the United States.

For the first time in his career, Mizel sat down with a reporter to talk about his business, the economy and how Colorado stacks up against other rapidly developing states across the country. His remarks are measured, seemingly preconceived. And they are spoken with the authority of a man who knows his business and his market.

"Colorado is a highly diversified market as far as the economic base, and we have not only a good economic base, but we have good government leadership both at the state and local level," he said.

"We've been fortunate the perception that Colorado is a great place to live really continues throughout the U.S. because not only do we have good employment opportunities, we have quality of lifestyle, and we certainly have affordable housing.

"Those factors together have continued to attract young professionals to Colorado. I believe that those natural resources are the ones that continue to enhance the growth of the state."

Mizel characterizes himself as extremely conservative in his investment practices and sees problem-solving and risk evaluation as two of his...