Giannis Antetokounmpo Keeps Buying Apartments

Affiliates of Ante, the family office of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, are busy making real estate trades across three states.

Ante spent more than $69 million over the past few months acquiring 186 apartments, according to public records first reported by CoStar. The buying spree spans Wisconsin, Brooklyn and most recently Chicago, adding another layer to the star’s expanding investments.

The latest deal was on Chicago’s North Side. An Ante affiliate paid just over $21 million for Harmony Apartments, a four-story, 56-unit building at 4513 North Clark Street in Uptown. The property was completed in 2024 by a group of local investors and closed Jan. 7, backed by an $11 million loan from Old National Bank, property records show.

The Uptown apartment complex was part of a family feud by its builders in 2024. Chicago builder Michael J. Lerner of MCZ Development and his wife, Jamie Lerner, sued their son, Michael N. Lerner, accusing him of preparing to sell the property and keep all proceeds for himself, despite previously agreeing to share 50 percent with a trust controlled by his mother.

Essex Realty Group brokered the sale, with Jordan Gottlieb and Rick Ofman handling the transaction. Essex announced the deal earlier this month, though Antetokounmpo’s involvement was not publicly known at the time. The building’s ground-floor retail space is slated for the Black Ensemble Theater, part of a broader push to establish a new arts and cultural hub in the neighborhood.

The Chicago purchase is about 85 miles south of the Bucks’ home arena and just north of the city’s Greektown, a geographic overlap for a player nicknamed “The Greek Freak.”

In November, the family office paid nearly $25.2 million for two neighboring buildings in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn. The properties, known collectively as The Lawrence at 111 Clarkson Street and 520 Parkside Avenue, were completed in 2018 and 2019 and total 50 units. The deal immediately fueled speculation that Antetokounmpo could be Knicks-bound, amid chatter that the two-time NBA most valuable player will soon be traded.

Wisconsin has seen similar action. In October, Ante paid $11.75 million for The Atwater, a 39-unit building in Shorewood, completed in 2023 and developed by Pat Connaughton, a former Bucks teammate. A month later, the family office spent another $11.6 million for The Emerson, a 41-unit building in Madison completed in 2021, according to the outlet.

The Antetokounmpo family, which includes Giannis’ brother and Bucks teammate Thanasis, has also invested in the Milwaukee Brewers, Nashville SC and online candy retailer Candy Funhouse.

— Eric Weilbacher