The Levy family privately protected the National Historic Landmark for nearly a century because of their regard for Thomas Jefferson and on behalf of the American people.

His father was a merchant and sea captain, and his mother was a descendant of Jonas Phillips and his wife Rebecca Machado.

He was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City, making money in real estate investment and finance.

[1] The house and grounds were in severe disrepair due to the overseer Joel Wheeler's lack of care and lengthy lawsuits among the heirs after his uncle's death.

Levy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars repairing, restoring, and preserving Monticello, work led by Thomas Rhodes, his on-site superintendent.

In 1880 he paid for the restoration of the Town Hall, originally built as a theater, and named it the Levy Opera House.

[2]In 1915, after the Southerner Woodrow Wilson was elected to the presidency, the likelihood of Congressional approval seemed high, but authorization was not achieved.

In 1923 he agreed to a down payment and mortgage for Monticello's sale to the newly organized Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which raised funds for the purchase and operated it as a house museum.

He was interred in Beth Olam Cemetery in Brooklyn, which associated with Shearith Israel Congregation, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Manhattan, near his uncle Uriah Levy.