Joseph Chetrit

❧

Wikipedia

Joseph Chetrit
Born
Morocco
ChildrenJonathan Chetrit
Daniel Chetrit
Sam Chetrit
Mikey Chetrit

Joseph Chetrit is an American real estate investor and developer and founder of the Chetrit Group, which privately owns more than twenty million square feet (1,900,000 m2; 460 acres) of real estate.

Early life

Chetrit was born to Simon and Alice Chetrit, a Jewish family in Morocco.[1][2] He has three brothers: Meyer, Jacob and Juda Chetrit.[3] The Chetrit family made their initial fortune in textiles[1] and shipping.[4] In 1996, his father and his brother David were arrested and jailed in Morocco for smuggling and were cited as an example of injustice by the U.S. State Department in their annual human rights report. They were pardoned and released in 1998.[4]

Career

Chetrit arrived in the United States initially tasked with furthering the family's textile business working as an importer/exporter. After pleading guilty to one felony count of violating customs laws in 1990 (and being sentenced to three years' probation), he turned to real estate, assembling a portfolio of outer-borough residential properties which he sold for $70 million in the early 1990s.[1] In 1994, he entered into his first commercial real estate transaction, purchasing an office building on West 44th Street for $13 million.[1] In 2002, he partnered with Brooklyn-based Simon Dushinsky's Rabsky Group to develop a portfolio of properties he purchased out of bankruptcy in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[5] In 2004, Chetrit was the lead investor in a group that purchased the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago for $840 million with partners Joseph Moinian, and Israel Gluck, eventually changing the name to the Willis Tower in 2009.[1][6]

Other purchases include Park West Village on the Upper West Side, the International Toy Center on Madison Square Park, 500 and 512 Seventh Ave. in the Garment District, and the Caledonian Hospital complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.[7] In 2009, Chetrit purchased a portion of the real estate portfolio of prolific Brooklyn real estate developer Isaac Hager who declared bankruptcy.[8]

In 2011, after a disagreement, the Chetrit brothers divided the family business into two entities with Joseph and Meyer operating under the Chetrit Group; and Jacob and Juda under the Chetrit Organization.[3][9] Also in 2011, partnering with David Bistricer, he purchased the Chelsea Hotel for $80 million;[10][11] they sold their interest in 2013.[12][13]

In 2013, he and his partner David Bistricer, purchased 550 Madison Avenue in New York City for $1.1 billion with plans to convert the building into condominiums.[14][15] In 2016, they halted the project due to fears of an over-supply of luxury housing; instead selling the building for $1.4+ billion to the Olayan Group of Saudi Arabia.[16] Additional projects include the renovation of 5 Beekman Street with Charles Dayan,[17][18] and the $290 million 2005 purchase along with partners Charles Dayan and Yair Levy of the 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) 620 Sixth Avenue and its 2011 sale to RXR Realty, LLC for $500 million.[19]

As an investor who made his primary wealth from buying low in a downturn and selling high later, Chetrit's strategy has been market timing rather than development. He typically selects structures with flexible zoning (which broadens the pool of future purchasers) in areas seeing a downturn and thanks to his minimal use of debt, he has the ability to wait the market out. At times this approach creates conflict with local businesses who want immediate change.[20]

The Chetrit Group acquired the beleaguered Hotel Carter—long infamous for its health and safety violations—for $192 million in 2015. Safety violations persisted under the Chetrit Group's ownership, and the city of New York sued the brothers in July 2025 for failing to maintain the property. The Chetrit Group struggled with debt in the early 2020s, and by 2025, the company had defaulted on $1.6 billion in debts; this included a $233 million mortgage on the Hotel Carter.[21] In 2022, Chetrit defaulted on a $112 million mortgage for the Hotel Bossert, resulting in its foreclosure;[22][23] the hotel was sold at auction in February 2025.[24]

On September 30 and October 29, 2025, respectively, Meyer and Joseph Chetrit were indicted in New York on felony charges of allegedly harassing two elderly tenants of rent-controlled apartments in a property the brothers owned.[25][26]

Personal life

Chetrit and his wife Nancy have four children. Chetrit speaks four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, French, and English. Chetrit practices Orthodox Judaism, and lives in New York City.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Acitelli, Tom (July 5, 2011). "Joseph Chetrit, the Most Mysterious Big Shot in New York Real Estate". Observer. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  2. ↑ Friedman, Jeanette (April 15, 2011). "Sephardic Center dedicated at Ahavath Torah". The Jewish Standard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Feuding Chetrit brothers split into two firms". The Real Deal. June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Nathan-Kazis, Josh (August 11, 2011). "Chelsea Hotel Braces for New Owners". The Forward. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  5. ↑ Maurer, Mark (May 1, 2015). "The Rabsky riddle". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Untold Story of Real Estate Mogul Joseph Chetrit". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ Rubinstein, Dana (April 25, 2011). "Condo Project Comes Alive". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ Maurer, Mark; Small, Eddie (May 1, 2018). "Isaac Hager's higher power – The developer is gaining outer borough market share, despite a trail of foreclosures and lawsuits from his early real estate days". The Real Deal.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Candace (September 1, 2011). "Chetrits deny split". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Karmin, Craig (May 16, 2011). "Hotel Chelsea's New Proprietor". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Chetrit revealed as Hotel Chelsea buyer". The Real Deal. May 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  12. ↑ Jones, David (August 28, 2013). "Chetrits, King & Grove break up hotel partnership". The Real Deal. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  13. ↑ Heyman, Marshall (August 28, 2013). "A New View at Chelsea Hotel". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ Geiger, Daniel (January 26, 2013). "How did this man buy that building?". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ Bagli, Charles V. (January 19, 2013). "Sony Building to Be Sold for $1.1 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  16. ↑ Bagli, Charles V. (April 29, 2016). "Plan to Turn Sony Building Into Luxury Apartments Is Abandoned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  17. ↑ Barbanel, Josh (June 17, 2010). "Hopes Rise for Landmark". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  18. ↑ Horsley, Carter (August 20, 2010). "Jacob Chetrit Sues Partner at Foreclosed 5 Beekman Street". cityrealty.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ "RXR acquires 620 Sixth in deal that values building at $500M". The Real Deal. September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  20. ↑ Scott, Anna (February 12, 2010). "To Have and to Hold, and Hold and Hold and Hold". Los Angeles Downtown News – The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ Elo, Rich Bockmann and Matthew (July 17, 2025). "City sues Chetrits over conditions at "dirtiest" hotel". The Real Deal. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Brooklyn's iconic Bossert Hotel facing foreclosure". The Real Deal. May 8, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  23. ↑ "$112M pre-foreclosure filed on Chetrit's Hotel Bossert". PincusCo. April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Bossert auction yields one taker, as Beach Point acquires historic hotel for $120M credit bid". Brooklyn Eagle. February 14, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  25. ↑ "D.A. Bragg, D.O.I. Commissioner Strauber Announce Indictment Of Landlords For Tenant Harassment In Chelsea Apartment" (Press release). Manhattan District Attorney's Office. September 30, 2025.
  26. ↑ Burke, Lilah (October 29, 2025). "Joseph Chetrit indicted in criminal tenant harassment case". The Real Deal. Retrieved December 3, 2025.