Larry Silverstein darts out of the elevator as it touches the lobby of his Park Avenue apartment building, offers me a brisk yet friendly greeting, then races out of the glass door, making sure to offer a courteous “thank you” to the doorman. I am supposed to follow. Silverstein is 76, but he walks at an extraordinary clip, as if wearing stilts. It is a muggy Friday morning in July, and he has eschewed his usual double-breasted suit with striped Turnbull & Asser shirt for a blue plaid sportscoat, an open-collared shirt and boat shoes.

I attempt some small talk about the humidity as we head toward his grey, four-door Mercedes, but Silverstein merely rolls his eyes skyward and remarks that “it’s not so bad” in a raspy, Brooklyn-accented voice. Realising that chitchat is not Silverstein’s thing, I ask the New York property developer about the subprime meltdown that has been roiling the markets. As we slip into the car’s back seats, he tells me that we are seeing a healthy correction. “It’s a dislocation for some, and an enormous opportunity for others. People who are over-leveraged find themselves squeezed. This presents opportunities for those of us who have cash.”