Ben Ashkenazy
New York, New York
Drop Out, Adelphi University
United States
8
real estate, Self Made
$4,000,000,000
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#504 Billionaires 2019
#179 Forbes 400 2018
Ben Ashkenazy bought his first building at age 17, after he went to a Bronx shopping center to check out a site to open a fast food restaurant.Then a recent high school grad, Ashkenazy realized the lease offered was below market value and decided to find a lender and buy the property instead.Since then, he has built a $12 billion portfolio via real estate firm Ashkenazy Acquisitions, which he founded and heads as CEO.The company is expanding globally, purchasing London's storied Grosvenor Hotel in July 2017.He also bought Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel in December 2017 and sold a minority stake in New York's Plaza Hotel in 2018.
In between his real estate ventures, Ashkenazy took night classes at Adelphi University but ended up six credits shy of graduating.His firm is known for investing in iconic real estate, including Boston's Faneuil Hall, New York's Plaza Hotel, and D.C.'s Union Station.
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