In brief
Richard S. LeFrak (born 1945) is an American billionaire real estate executive and philanthropist who has led the LeFrak Organization as its longtime chairman and chief executive officer.
The LeFrak Organization, a privately held family enterprise founded by his great-grandfather Aaron LeFrak in 1901, focuses on the ownership, development, and management of commercial and residential properties, with major holdings in the New York metropolitan area including the expansive LeFrak City apartment complex in Queens comprising 20 buildings and over 5,000 units. LeFrak earned a bachelor's degree cum laude from Amherst College and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University before joining the firm in 1968, ascending to president in 1975 and full leadership in 2003 upon his father Samuel J. LeFrak's death, during which period the company expanded its portfolio through projects like waterfront developments in Jersey City and mixed-use initiatives in Miami such as SoLe Mia.
Richard LeFrak was born in 1945 in New York City to Samuel J. LeFrak, a pioneering real estate developer who founded and led the LeFrak Organization, and Ethel Stone LeFrak; he was one of four children in a Jewish family deeply embedded in the building industry. The family's business origins trace to Richard's grandfather, Harry LeFrak, who established operations in France in 1883 before immigrating to New York in the early 1900s, laying the groundwork for a vertically integrated enterprise focused on construction and property management.
