John Catsimatidis Net Worth

What Is John Catsimatidis' Net Worth?

John Catsimatidis is a Greek-American businessman and radio personality who has a net worth of $4.5 billion. John Catsimatidis earned his net worth in the worlds of supermarkets, oil, and real estate. Catsimatidis is the owner, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods and Red Apple Group, the former being the largest grocery chain in Manhattan and the latter being a real estate company with some $800 million in holdings. In 1969, John opened his own store that later became the Red Apple Group empire. Today, the group controls New York's Gristedes supermarkets and 800,000 square feet of city real estate. It also has holdings in aviation and real estate interests in New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands. Serving as the chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group subsidiary United Refining Co., Catsimatidis also owns the Hellenic Times, a Greek-American newspaper based in Manhattan. Aside from his business, he tried his hand at politics as a Republican candidate in the 2013 New York City primary mayoral election. John has also hosted the WABC radio shows "The Cats Roundtable," "Cats at Night," and "Cats & Cosby." In 2020, he purchased WABC for $12.5 million. Catsimatidis published his memoir, "How Far Do You Want to Go?: Lessons From A Common-Sense Billionaire," in 2023.

Early Life

John Catsimatidis was born on September 7, 1948, in Nisyros, Greece. When he was six months old, he moved to the United States with his family. John grew up in West Harlem in New York City, where his father, a former lighthouse operator, worked as a busboy. Catsimatidis attended Brooklyn Technical High School, graduating in 1966. Though he earned a congressional nomination to West Point, he decided to enroll at New York University to study electrical engineering. During his college years, he worked at a supermarket that was owned by his friend Tony and Tony's uncle. Tony sold his half of the supermarket to John, and Catsimatidis left college eight credits short of earning his degree.

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Career

In 1971, Catsimatidis opened the first Red Apple grocery store on Manhattan's Upper West Side. According to John's official website, "By his 25th birthday he was already a success with 10 Red Apple Supermarkets scattered along Broadway on Manhattan's Upper Westside." Red Apple stores were different from other supermarkets in those days because they stayed open late every day of the week, cashed checks for their customers, and provided free delivery. By the early '80s, there were more than 25 Red Apple stores in Manhattan and the Bronx, with annual sales of approximately $40 million. By 1985, the chain's sales had grown to $110 million. In 1986, the company bought 36 Gristedes supermarkets as well as nearly a dozen affiliated Charles & Co. specialty food stores. That year, Catsimatidis also acquired United Refining Co., which owned gasoline refineries in Alabama and Pennsylvania. In 2009, Catsimatidis' main holdings reportedly included 50 Gristedes supermarkets, an oil business, $500 million in real estate, and over 370 gas stations. In 2015, it was reported that the Red Apple Group had a $3 billion revenue and employed 8,000 workers. In 2023, John released his memoir, "How Far Do You Want to Go?: Lessons From A Common-Sense Billionaire," a Publishers Weekly bestseller in which he "reveals how his instincts and common sense have propelled him to massive business success."

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Personal Life

John married Margaret "Margo" Vondersaar on October 2, 1988, at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York. The couple met when Margo became John's secretary in the early '70s, and they have welcomed son John Jr. and daughter Andrea together. John Jr. is the Chief Operating Officer and President of Red Apple Group, and Andrea is a Principal of Red Apple Real Estate, Managing Director of Gristedes Supermarkets, and Vice President of First Federal Guarantee Insurance Company. Andrea was married to Christopher Cox, Richard Nixon's grandson, from 2011 to 2014, and John has said that he spent more than $1 million on their wedding. In 2020, the New York Times reported that the Catsimatidis family runs the Manhattan Republican Party; John, Margo, and John Jr. are vice presidents, while Andrea is the chairwoman. In the past, Catsimatidis donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates, and he was on Hillary Clinton's finance team when she ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election.

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Philanthropy

As of the early 2000s, John was one of the largest donors to the charity G&P Foundation for Cancer Research. He founded the Brooklyn Tech Endowment Foundation and was the co-chairman of the organization, and he established the John Catsimatidis Scholarship Fund for students at the New York University Stern School of Business. John served as the president of the Boy Scouts of America's Manhattan Council for five years, and he has been a member of the board of directors of the Drum Major Institute and the Police Athletic League of New York City. He has also been involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Alzheimer's Foundation of America, National Kidney Foundation, and Young Men's Philanthropic League. He was the vice-chairman of the National Ethnic Coalition Organization's Ellis Island Awards Foundation, and the organization honored him with an Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Catsimatidis launched the WABC Radio Foundation, which "supports the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine."

Real Estate

In 2022, Catsimatidis paid $5 million for a Chappaqua Mansion that was featured in the horror-comedy film "Bodies Bodies Bodies." The estate is known as "Rosewood," and it measures 20,456 square feet and includes six bedrooms, 10.5 bathrooms, a two-story library, a wine cellar, a sauna, a gym, and an indoor basketball court. A pool and sports court sit on the 86-acre property.

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