Entrepreneur Of The Month: Elie Hirschfeld

If ever a man fits the description of driven to succeed, Elie Hirschfield does. His father, Abe Hirschfeld was a major real estate developer, but Elie has taken it to the next level – his real estate holdings include over 1,000 apartments in New York City, approximately one million square feet of commercial property in the City, and added to that, other real properties including what was once the summer home of the Clinton’s – with an estimated value of over $32 million for just that property. He’s the President of Hirschfeld Properties.

The list of historic and luxury properties he developed reads like a who’s who for New York City real estate including Park Avenue Court, the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hotel Pennsylvania, the first open air garage, and the Grand Sutton. Conservative estimates are that his personal fortune is worth approximately $500 million.

But real property is only one place Elie focuses his energy. He enjoys a good show on Broadway – usually about 25 of them each year. He’s also produced and co-produced several Broadway plays and is a voting member for the Tony Awards on the Broadway League. In addition to those arts, he’s also an avid art collector holding several modern art pieces from artists including Andy Warhol and Francoise Gilot, he also has art from others such as Norman Rockwell.

He established the Hirschfeld Foundation as a charity supporting athletics, healthcare, education, and more. Education is obviously important to him, having studied at and graduated from the London School of Economics, Brown University, and New York University Law School. He serves as trustee emeritus for both Long Island University and Brown University. Elie also sits on the board for Weizmann Institute of Science (US Board director), and various other organizations including the Jewish National Fund.

Elie Hirschfeld directed Hirschfeld Properties, LLC into partnerships with other distinguished real estate development firms such as the Zeckendorf Organization, the Donald Trump Organization, The Silverstein Organization, Empire Realty Group, Belz Enterprises of Memphis and the shopping mall development group, The Mel Simon Organization.

Oh, and did we mention, he’s also a triathlete – even though he’s in his 60’s he’s completed over 100 endurance events including marathons, triathlons, and ironman races. He even took first in his age group at least once.

He continues to work in the City of his birth and enjoys a few properties owned personally where he lives with his current wife, Sarah J. Schlesinger MD. Along with being a doctor, she’s also an associate professor at Rockefeller University working in clinical investigation.

Elie Hirschfeld is a great entrepreneur.

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