Ben Ashkenazy

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Ben Ashkenazy
Born1968or1969(age 55–56) [1]
Israel
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Adelphi University (did not graduate)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder, CEO and majority owner of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation
SpouseDebra Ashkenazy
Children3

Ben Ashkenazy (born 1969) is an Israeli-American billionaire real estate developer. He is the founder, CEO, and majority owner of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, which has a $12 billion property portfolio. As of February 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$2.6 billion. [1]

Contents

Early life

Ashkenazy was born in Israel, and grew up in Lawrence, Long Island, New York, the son of Izzy Ashkenazy, also a real estate businessman. [2] [3] He is of Jewish descent. [4]

Career

Ashkenazy bought his first property at the age of 18. [2] [3] He attended night classes at Adelphi University, but did not graduate. [2]

In 1987, he founded Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation. [2]

In 2013, his company bought London's Old Spitalfields Market, but later sold it. [3] In July 2017, the company bought London's Grosvenor House Hotel for about $750 million. [1] [3]

His company holds a long-term lease agreements in the city of Boston for Faneuil Hall Marketplace and South Station. [5] His company leases Washington DC's Union Station, and has a $70 million stake in New York's Plaza Hotel. [3] [6]

In November 2019, his company purchased the 83,923-square-foot Ferndale Shopping Center in Larchmont for a price exceeding $35 million. [7]

Personal life

He is married to Debra Ashkenazy, they have three children, and live on New York City's Fifth Avenue. [1] [6] [8]

He hired rapper Drake to perform at his daughter's bat mitzvah in the Rainbow Room. [1] [3]

Ashkenazy is a minority owner of Euroleague Basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. [ citation needed ]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Forbes profile: Ben Ashkenazy". Forbes. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ben Ashkenazy". Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New York's Plaza Hotel Is in the Sights of This Shy Billionaire". Bloomberg. September 14, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017 via www.bloomberg.com.
  4. "The World's Jewish Billionaires". Forbes Israel . February 2, 2023.
  5. Rios, Simón (August 29, 2025). "Boston commuters aren't sold on a federal takeover of South Station". WBUR. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Does Ashkenazy have an inside track at the Plaza?" . Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  7. Katz, Peter (November 19, 2019). "Ashkenazy buys Ferndale Shopping Center; second in Westchester in two weeks". Westfair Communications. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  8. "Who's the Boss?". December 3, 2002. Retrieved December 27, 2017.