For some, joining the family business is a given. For others, the call came later. And then, some decide to forgo real estate entirely.
The September issue of the magazine explores how succession plans (or lack thereof) have played out in some of the most storied real estate family dynasties. (If you have not read my colleague Rich Bockmann’s account of the Goldman family, you must.)
While working on a story about where daughters of industry titans have landed within their family firms, it became clear that a number of scions have taken themselves out of the running or decided to dedicate most of their time to other pursuits.
At Stellar Management, Larry Gluck’s daughter Amanda has a VP title and a marketing and public relations role at the firm. Dana, who has a master’s degree in real estate finance and investment from New York University, worked for Stellar Management at one point but has since stepped away. Heather is not involved in the business, and appears to be a writer.
Larry Silverstein’s oldest child, Sharon, worked at the family firm for a few years and then got her MBA from Harvard Business School. In his forthcoming book, Silverstein says Sharon “wound up returning to the warm West Coast weather to be a full-time mother.”
The eldest Kushner sibling, Dara, is not involved in the family business. Ira Drukier’s daughter, Jennifer Birnbaum, once worked for the company but is no longer involved on a day to day basis. The oldest of Douglas Durst’s children, Anita, runs the art nonprofit Chashama.
Many of the non-real estate-focused family members tend to stay out of the limelight. But when disagreements over succession are dragged into court, we sometimes get a glimpse of how relatives view their future with the family business. Amy Goldman Fowler, who has accused her siblings of wrongfully squeezing her out of her share in the family firm, has a PhD in clinical psychology and has authored five books on gardening. She has another three underway.
What we’re thinking about: Are the millionaires and billionaires of real estate building bunkers to ride out the apocalypse? Who has the nicest bunker? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: “The Black Sun” is an annual murmuration of starlings that is so dense that it can temporarily block out the sun for those watching from the West Coast of Denmark, according to Popular Science.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Linda Sun, a former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul was indicted Tuesday on charges that she accepted benefits worth millions of dollars in exchange for using her position to benefit the People’s Republic of China and its Communist Party, the New York Times reports. Sun allegedly used the money to buy a $3.6 million home on the North Shore of Long Island and a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii.
— The city provided 150 migrant families with up to $4,000 to leave the city’s shelter system and find permanent housing, Gothamist reports. The one-time grants were offered to families and pregnant women who live at 62 emergency Department of Homeless Services shelters.
—One person was shot and killed, and four others were injured, Monday at the West Indian American Parade in Brooklyn, CBS reports. Police are still looking for the shooter. Denzel Chan, 25, was shot in the abdomen and later died from the injury.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $7.4 million for a 2,775-square-foot co-op at 10 Bond Street in NoHo. The Eklund Gomes Team of Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $10.5 million for a 3,833 multi-story retail building at 132 Bedford Avenue in North Williamsburg.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $22.95 million for a 2,761-square-foot condominium at 15 Central Park West in Lincoln Square. Elizabeth Mercedes Berk of Engel & Volkers has the listing.Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 49,058-square-foot, 5-story school building at 78-07 51st Avenue in Elmhurst. Jonathan Imani of IMC Architecture filed the permits on behalf of Liberty Search Ventures. — Matthew Elo