
Local business leader and philanthropist becomes author
“Starting Small and Making It Big” to be released March 1. Local real estate magnate and philanthropist Bill Cummings has written an autobiography, due for release on March 1. “Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist” chronicles his life from his humble beginnings in Medford to his membership in the Giving Pledge, an organization for the world’s wealthiest people. Cummings, age 80, is known locally for founding commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties and growing it from one small building to an 11 million-square-foot portfolio, mostly north of Boston. In recent years, the Cummings name has also been associated with more than $200 million in grant funding awarded to Greater Boston nonprofits through the eponymous foundation Bill established with his wife, Joyce, in 1986. Although…