Wikipedia's first sentence called it “oldest of the five reichmann brothers”. Today it says “israeli businessman”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Edward Reichmann (b. 1925 ) is the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire.1 Edward was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin. The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Edward was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to Canada.2 He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Floor and Tile , a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto Edward's three brothers quickly moved in building and property development.3 Edward seeing their success also moved into this industry. Unlike his four other brothers Edward was brash and outspoken and frequently courted the media.4 He also put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16973451.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Edward Reichmann ( ; 1925 - July, 2005) was the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. Edward was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin. The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Edward was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to Canada . He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Floor and Tile , a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. Unlike his four other brothers, Edward was brash and outspoken and frequently courted the media. He also put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366373261.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Edward Reichmann ( ; 1925 - July, 2005) was an Israeli businessman. He is the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. Edward was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin. The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Edward was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to Canada . He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Floor and Tile , a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. He put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 632993686.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Edward Reichmann ( ; 1925 – July 2005) was an Israeli businessman. He is the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. He was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin. The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Reichmann was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to Canada . He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Floor and Tile , a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. He put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto-based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 943830022.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Edward Reichmann ( ; 1925 – July 2005) was an Israeli businessman. He is the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. He was born to Samuel Reichmann a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin from Beled . The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Reichmann was the first of the Reichmann's to emigrate to Canada . He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Floor and Tile , a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. He put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto-based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1148394559.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Israeli businessman (1925–2005) Edward Reichmann ( Hebrew : אדוארד רייכמן ; 1925 – July 2005) was an Israeli businessman. He was the oldest of the five Reichmann brothers, famed for their global business empire. He was born to Samuel Reichmann, a wealthy Vienna merchant of Hungarian origin from Beled . The family was lucky to escape Austria before the Nazi invasion leaving the country on the morning of the Anschluss to tend to Edward's grandfather David who had suffered a stroke. From Hungary the family made its way to Paris and then the neutral city of Tangier where Samuel established a successful business in currency trading. Reichmann was the first of the Reichmanns to emigrate to Canada . He liked Canada, being attracted by Montreal 's large Jewish community and favourable economic prospects. In Montreal, he joined with his brother Louis to found Olympia Flooring and Tile, a company that imported tiles from overseas. The business was a success. When Edward's three younger brothers Paul , Albert , and Ralph moved to Canada, he convinced them to settle in Toronto and open a branch of the tile company there. In Toronto, Edward's three brothers quickly moved into building and property development. Edward, seeing their success, also moved into this industry. He put much energy into building connections with the city's political elite, including becoming a close associate of mayor Jean Drapeau . Despite a number of major projects, Edward Reichmann's construction ventures did not prosper. Nearing bankruptcy, the company only survived through a massive bailout by his Toronto-based brothers. Edward felt embarrassed at having to be rescued by his younger brothers and left Canada for Israel . There, he again turned to property development, rising to become Israel's fifteenth richest man. These ventures were largely unaffected by the collapse of his brothers' Olympia and York company.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1283021471. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “oldest of the five reichmann brothers”. Today it says “israeli businessman”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
oldest of the five reichmann brothers
Now
israeli businessman
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.