Donna Olshan started her eponymous boutique residential brokerage in 1980, when it looked as if New York City real estate, if it ever did come back from the economic doldrums of the decade before, would certainly tarry.

Olshan, the firm and the broker (who is also its sole owner), rode the citys myriad property booms since and now specializes in the over-$4 million market. It is also noteworthy for the Olshan Luxury Report, a weekly rundown of that state of that market. The firm has nine brokers, including its founder, and also handles rentals as well as relocations for corporate employees.

Olshan works mostly the Gold Coasts of Central Park as well as the Upper East Side. She graduated from George Washington University and her husband is author and former ESPN commentator Peter Bonventre.