Andrew Farkas is the founder of Island Capital Group, a major real estate merchant bank headquartered in Manhattan.

Prior to founding Island, Farkas, the scion of the Alexanders retail family in New York City, built Insignia Financial Group into one of the largest real estate brokerages in the country in the 1990s.In 2010, his firm bought the countrys third-largest special loan servicer, Centerline Holding Corp. Then, in 2011, he bought JER Partners, another special servicer.

After starting as a Wall Street trader at the old Salomon Brothers, Farkas launched Insignia in 1990 with about $5 million in family money.

After selling Insignia, Farkas formed a privately held merchant bank called Island Capital, and a subsidiary firm called Island Global Yachting, which acquired marinas and land used by luxury yacht owners and boat charter firms.

He earned an economics degree from Harvard. -TA