Ben Ashkenazy (born 1968/69) is an American billionaire real estate developer. He is the founder, CEO, and majority owner of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, which has a $12 billion property portfolio.

Early life

Ashkenazy was born in Israel, and grew up in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, Long Island, New York, the son of Izzy Ashkenazy, also a real estate businessman.

Career

Ashkenazy bought his first property at the age of 18. He attended night classes at

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

, but did not graduate. In 1987, he founded Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation. In 2013, his company bought London's

Old Spitalfields Market Old Spitalfields Market is a covered market in Spitalfields, London. There has been a market on the site for over 350 years. In 1991 it gave its name to New Spitalfields Market in Leyton, where fruit and vegetables are now traded. In 2005, a re ...

, but later sold it. In July 2017, the company bought London's

Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, originally named the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. The hotel is managed by JW Marriott Hotels, which is a brand of Marriott Internat ...

for about $750 million. His company holds a long-term lease agreement with the City of Boston for Boston's

Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...

Marketplace, leases Washington DC's

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

, and has a $70 million stake in New York's Plaza Hotel. In November 2019, his company purchased the 83,923-square-foot Ferndale Shopping Center in

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...

for a price exceeding $35 million.

Personal life

He is married to Debra Ashkenazy, they have three children, and live on New York City's Fifth Avenue. He hired rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

to perform at his daughter's bat mitzvah in the

Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves cla ...

. Ashkenazy is a minority owner of Euroleague Basketball club

Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club ( he, מועדון כדורסל מכבי תל אביב), known for sponsorship reasons as Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (), is a professional basketball club based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The team plays in the Israe ...

References

Living people 1960s births American billionaires American company founders People from Lawrence, Nassau County, New York American real estate businesspeople 20th-century American Jews American people of Israeli descent 21st-century American Jews {{US-business-bio-1960s-stub