Ron Moelis began his career in the 1980s flipping apartments during the co-op craze, before taking on high-profile condos such as Northside Piers in Williamsburg. But his real success wasn't with glitzy commercial space or luxury high-rises. It was with affordable housing.

Moelis is CEO and founder of L+M Development Partners Inc. The firm first developed its own construction arm, which has helped it weather financial storms over the years. Property management and retail divisions followed. Under Moelis' guidance, the firm became one of the few developers to work in both affordable and market-rate housing.

The Queens-born Moelis also started the Institute for Affordable Housing Policy, which examines housing policy, and is an advisory board member of the New York City Housing Partnership.

Moelis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelors degrees in history and economics and received his law degree from New York University. In 2012 he was named the entrepreneur of the year for real state by Ernst & Young.