Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 10:29 a.m.
Across the country, Leonard Shoen's most visible creation is the silver and bright orange moving truck -- the mark of U-Haul International Inc.
But in Las Vegas his most prominent mark can be found at the World Trade Center Hotel on Desert Inn Road. The U-Haul founder purchased the hotel in 1996 with dreams of creating a property that would encourage international trade in his home of 20 years.
"He had seen World Trade Centers elsewhere, and they offered something that was not being offered in Las Vegas," said his oldest son, Sam Shoen. "Just to get into the gaming business in Las Vegas ... you have to be very different to differentiate yourself, without having to compete with the really big gaming resorts.
"He wanted it to have a truly international feel. He was just barely getting started."
But the hotel will not remain with the Shoen family for long. Leonard Shoen died Monday at the age of 83 in a one-car accident ruled suicide by the Clark County coroner's office. The property he has been building for the last three years will soon be sold.
Sam Shoen, who lives near Seattle and has been helping his father divest some of his business assets, said that his father decided to sell the hotel about five months ago, shortly after he withdrew his application for a nonrestricted gaming license at World Trade Center.
"He had a vision of creating a full world trade center there," Sam Shoen said. "Unfortunately, he got ill, and he was not able to complete it. That's why it's for sale.
"He recognized that it was a young man's game. He could do it when he was 80, but not when he was 83."
Sam Shoen said that three parties have expressed interest in the property. Two have said they're committed to continuing the World Trade Center concept. A third party wants to create a gaming-oriented convention center there, and if that party buys the hotel, the Shoens will sell the World Trade Center franchise license for Nevada separately.
Unlike most lodging properties in Las Vegas, it has no gaming.
Sam Shoen said his father decided to withdraw the gaming application in May after deciding that gaming would be extraneous to the hotel's central concept -- an environment for selling goods from all over the world --- and growing frustrated with the lengthy gaming approval process.
"You can put gaming on it, but there's no gaming there now," Sam Shoen said. "It's not necessary to tie this in with gaming, and in some ways it would be distracting."
Sam Shoen said that it won't be emotionally difficult to sell his father's final business vision.
"That's just bricks, mortar and dirt over there ... his legacy is much different than that," he said. "He has a bunch of children who love and respect him, and many people who work for him who admire him greatly."
A veteran of World War II, Shoen came up with the idea for U-Haul in 1945, when he had to move his family from Los Angeles to Portland, Ore. At the time he couldn't rent a trailer, so he was forced to buy one. That year he and his wife built the first U-Haul trailers with an initial investment of $5,000. Within four years it was possible to rent U-Haul trailers for trips between most major cities in the United States.
Shoen came to Las Vegas about 20 years ago, after U-Haul emerged as a powerful national company. He grew up in Minnesota and North Dakota, and his son said his father always wanted to live someplace warm. Although U-Haul is based in Phoenix, his son says Leonard Shoen considered Las Vegas home.
"All he remembers (from childhood) was being cold all the time," Sam Shoen said. "First he moved to Palm Springs, then to Phoenix, then Las Vegas.
"He liked the climate in Las Vegas, he liked the vibrant nature of the economy there. Where he made his home was not terribly important, because in his case, the road was his home."
Because of the travel his job demanded, Shoen became an avid private pilot, logging 9,000 hours. His flying days ended 15 years ago near Akron, Ohio, after his plane's crankshaft failed in flight.
Shoen was able to land the plane safely.
In 1986, a feud for control of U-Haul's parent company, Amerco Inc. of Reno, erupted. Two of Shoen's sons, Joe and Mark, forced Leonard Shoen into retirement. Joe Shoen is now chief executive of U-Haul, while Mark Shoen is president.
Leonard Shoen settled the lawsuit for more than $100 million in 1996, forcing his sons to file for protection in bankruptcy court.
Sam Shoen said the feud has continued to this day -- and believes it is to blame for his father's decision to take his own life.
"Some of his children threw him out of his company, and pursued him with litigation until the day he died," Sam Shoen said. "It was relentless, remorseless and inexcusable behavior.
"They've been attempting to cause his destruction for years, and now they've got what they wanted. It is an object lesson in what happens when you fail to honor your father, and they will reap the consequences."
A U-Haul spokeswoman said the litigation was "totally resolved" three years ago.
"That's not a corporate issue," said Johna Burke. "That's really a family matter."
The Shoen brothers could not be reached for comment.
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