Stephen R. Karp (born 1941) is an American real estate developer and billionaire.

Biography

Karp was born to Beatrice G. (née Taylor) and Harold Karp. Karp worked construction during the summer while attending

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Boston Magazine: "The 50 Wealthiest Bostonians" By Francis Storrs
March 2006 where he graduated. After school, he worked for a real estate development firm whom he convinced to partner with him to develop a shopping center in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

named the Liberty Tree Mall, one of the first enclosed malls in the Northeast.Combined Jewish Philanthropies: "Stephen R. Karp"
retrieved July 12, 2014 The mall opened in 1972 and was successful. In 1978, he founded his real estate development company New England Development and then went on to develop over 20 malls before selling 14 of them for $1.75 billion to the

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

.Forbes: "The 400 Richest Americans - #374 Stephen R Karp
September 21, 2006 Karp served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

International Council of Shopping Centers The International Council of Shopping Centers, doing business as ICSC, is the global trade association of what it calls the "Marketplaces Industry" (i.e., shopping centers, shopping malls, and all other retail real estate). Founded in 1957, it fe ...

and is a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and the

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...

Philanthropy

In 2013, Karp received the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) Edwin N. Sidman Leadership Award. He served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical Scho ...

, as a trustee and chairman of Children's Hospital Trust, and as chairman of the Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Care; he also served on the Board of Trustees of

Belmont Hill School Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school on a campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grad ...

, and the Boston Youth Sanctuary. He is on the Board of Overseers of

Newton-Wellesley Hospital Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) is a community teaching medical center located in Newton, Massachusetts on Washington Street. It is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1881, part of its ca ...

and the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

Personal life

Karp is married to Jill Karp and has two children: Douglass and Jana. His son Doug along with his best friend Ben Fischman (and son of New England Development's Vice Chairman Steven Fischman) co-founded the baseball cap retailer, Lids''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karp, Stephen R. 1941 births American real estate businesspeople American philanthropists Boston University alumni Businesspeople from Massachusetts American billionaires Living people American chief executives 21st-century American Jews