Top row, from left: Stephen Ross, Leonard Stern, Richard LeFrak. Bottom row, from left: Donald Trump, Steven Ross, Mort Zuckerman.

With a net worth of $22 billion, David Koch, executive vice president of consumer products conglomerate Koch Industries, is the richest man in New York, beating out the $18.1 billion Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who’s runner-up for that title, and the $16 billion hedge fund king John Paulson, in third. But according to Forbes’ 2011 list of the world’s billionaires, New York is home to a whopping 68 individuals with net worths in the 10- and 11-digit range, and naturally, many of them made their fortunes in New York City real estate (see The Real Deal’s November 2010 cover story, “Billionaire’s real estate club”). Click here for the latest list of the industry’s richest. TRD
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Billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis and Morgan Stanley are the two highest bidders for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company’s Food Emporium portfolio, according to Crain’s. The grocery chain’s 16 Manhattan locations are up for sale by the ailing A&P, which is unloading noncore assets in an attempt to turn a profit after seven quarters in the red. Catsimatidis, one of Forbes’ richest Americans and the owner of Gristedes, all but confirmed his involvement in acquisition negotiations, noting that “it’s no secret that we have interest” in the Food Emporium. [Crain's]

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From left: Sam Zell, Richard LeFrak, Stephen Ross, Jerry Speyer and John Catsimatidis

Real estate bigwigs Sam Zell, Richard LeFrak and his family and Stephen Ross cracked Forbes’ annua [more]

Positive indicators may be leading to too much optimism

From the September issue: Some people are telling me that the recession is over and the real estate market is back. I worry that they are wearing rose-colored glasses.

To prove the point, just listen to John Catsimatidis, the chairman and CEO of Gristedes supermarket and United Refining Company, an independent refiner and owner-operator of 375 retail gasoline and convenience stores. “I am wealthier and financially stronger than I have been in my four decades in business,” Catsimatidis said. “Yet I am worried about the economy, and especially the state of commercial real estate.”

Catsimatidis is also the developer of a new residential rental building, the Andrea, at 218 Myrtle Avenue on the edge of Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn. Appearing on my show recently, he remarked that while units are renting, they come with concessions of up to two free months and at lower rents than he expected when he began construction in 2008.

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With the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea, which owns the A&P, Food Emporium, Pathmark and Waldbaums, well known to be in financial hot water, its competitors are angling to take over not just its market share, but its vast real estate holdings, according to Crain’s. Among the vultures are John Catsimatidis, owner of Gristedes, and Howard Glickberg, owner of Fairway Market, among others. The A&P has suffered as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have thrived over the past decade. For the past seven quarter, the company has been in the red, and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the company’s credit rating to CCC in July. A spokesperson for the grocer said it plans to sell noncore assets in an attempt to turn a profit once again. The Montvale, N.J.-based A&P has 48 properties across the five boroughs, and its rare that buildings with enough space for a supermarket become available in the city. Some have speculated that the A&P will sell off Food Emporium, which has 16 Manhattan stores. [Crain's]

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From the June issue: One might expect a corporate mogul who owns grocery stores, office
buildings and oil refineries to run his empire from a fancy skyscraper.
Not John Catsimatidis, CEO of the Red Apple Group and one-time mayoral
hopeful. His office is in a low-rise building at 823 11th Avenue.
There, clutter belies a command central for a new foray into
residential development with a plan to build apartments on a
three-block stretch in Downtown Brooklyn. The first piece, a 100-unit
rental at 218 Myrtle Avenue, opens in September. See after the jump for a snapshot of Catsimatidis’ office. Comments

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