David Lichtenstein

Real estate mogul David Lichtenstein first racked up $89,000 in credit card debt to purchase a two-story, multi-family home in New Jersey in 1986.Today his Lightstone Group oversees some 15,000 rental units across 80 properties across 28 states.Lightstone is also developing a new brand of millenial-focused city hotels with Marriott, called Moxy. Its Times Square location opened in 2017.In 2007 he paid $7.4 billion in debt and $200 million in equity for Extended Stay America, a chain of mid-priced hotels. The recession forced Extended Stay into bankruptcy protection; Lightstone later sold 20 malls for $2.3 billion.