Efstathios Valiotis, who goes by Steve, is the founder and president of privately-held Alma Realty Corp, a landlord and real estate development firm in New York City.

Valiotis was born in Greece, moved to the United States in 1972, and worked as a busboy, a dishwasher, a newsstand clerk, and a furniture salesman before getting into real estate. His first real estate investments were conversions of abandoned industrial and warehouse buildings into upscale residential loft buildings.

His other businesses include a stake in Alma Bank, as well as suppliers of construction and plumbing services. In Europe, Valiotis allegedly participated in a 1990s corruption scheme, in which an intermediary bribed officials at Banque Franco-Hellenic de Commerce to secure a $5.7 million loan for Valiotis shipping business, Levant Lines. Ten other banks had denied the company its loan request.