Simon Ziff has been at the helm of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group since 1995. As one of the most prominent boutique real estate debt and equity brokerages in the country, the company closed more than $7 billion in deals last year and about $85 billion in total since Ziff became president. The advisory firm dates back to 1926, when Herman and Bert Ackman initially founded it as Ackman Brothers. It has since worked on financing deals ranging from the Milford Plaza Hotel in New York (now known as the Row NYC Hotel) to the Parkmerced project in San Francisco, the brokerage’s largest to date, totaling $1.75 billion in debt and preferred equity. Ackman-Ziff now employs 50 people and has offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Boston. The company is active in other cities, including Philadelphia, Denver and Washington, D.C., where Ziff said he will likely open an additional office in the future. Ziff grew up in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, attended Penn State University and remains a big fan of the school’s wrestling team. He earned his master’s degree in real estate from NYU and got his first job in the business after responding to a newspaper ad from Larry Ackman seeking someone to... Read More