Owners Magazine 2022’s Most Likely…
We polled owners and asked who among their colleagues deserved superlatives such as most likely to succeed, best dressed, best car, most likely to be mayor, best athlete, best celebrity lookalike and class clown
By The Editors November 1, 2022 8:00 am
reprints
Best Dressed
Larry Silverstein
Honestly, we went into this category certain that the iconic, dapper New York developer would win this one hands-down — and he did, but there were others nominated that made us stop and think. A couple of West Coasters were mentioned like Roy March of Eastdil Secured and Rob Rosania of Maximus (both extremely natty dressers). As did always modish New Yorkers like Charles Bendit of Taconic Partners; Cushman & Wakefield super-broker Tara Stacom; Ronald Dickerman of Madison International Realty; Harry Macklowe of Macklowe Properties; architect Isabelle Autones; and MaryAnne Gilmartin of MAG Properties. The more casual Jed Walentas got a vote, as did the recently departed Arnold Fisher of Fisher Bros. But in the end it was still Silverstein who carried the day.
Best Car
The Marx Mobile
The question of who has the best car is a slightly dubious distinction for those of us raised on John Hughes movies. The unbearable preppy schmuck invariably had some sort of shmancy sports car with a license plate reading “So Cool,” or some variant. (At least that was Mike Todwell’s plate in “Adventures in Babysitting.”) But it remains a rite of high school yearbooks to acknowledge who’s got the best. Among the real estate figures nominated were the cars of Paul Massey, Michael Shvo, Peter Kalikow, Barry Gosin, Harry Macklowe and Derek Trulson. (So feel free to hit them up for a drive someday.) But the most votes were tallied for Marx Realty’s $100,000 electric Porsche Taycan — the one emblazoned with Marx Realty’s logo that’s available to tenants at 10 Grand Central and goes by the moniker “the Marx Mobile.” (Karl would be spinning in his grave.) Given that this is a seriously cool perk that goes not to one but many (we suspect Karl wouldn’t be fully appeased, but it’s something) we hereby declare it a Porsche that’s free from any teenage comedy snobbery.
Best Athlete
Alex Rodriguez
This is another one where we had to put our thumb on the scale as there was no clear-cut winner. We were pretty certain that most people would say Winston Fisher, who once ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Others mentioned were Charlie Leonard of Rockwood, Daniel Moore of the Rockefeller Group, Ryan Masiello of VTS and Scott Rechler of RXR. But a few of our respondents threw in some names that threw us for a loop, like Housing Commissioner Adolfo Carrion Jr. and ... former Yankee Alex Rodriguez. We were ready to discard those names but, well, those guys ARE in real estate. And, if that’s the case, it’s open and shut: A-Rod. If Aaron Judge wants a post-MLB career in CRE, we’ll reassess.
Best Celebrity Lookalike
Dara McQuillan/Johnny Depp
We have to admit, we’re putting our thumb on the scale on this one, as nobody won an outright plurality. There were a couple of weird answers — or, at least, comparisons that we couldn’t quite see. (Ziel Feldman and ... Bryant Gumbel? Are there two Bryant Gumbels?) And one of our less follically-gifted respondents put himself forward next to Mr. Clean. “Bald. Middle aged.” Maybe. (We promised to keep responses anonymous.) But, for those who know Dara McQuillan, the chief marketing and communications officer at Silverstein Properties, the comparison between him and Johnny Depp (purely looks-wise — we’re not commenting on anything else) is so profound that we closed the books.
Class Clown
Rudy Giuliani
There’s “nothing funny about NY Real Estate.” So was the droll pronouncement of one of our owners when we asked who among the real estate hoi polloi would qualify as the class clown. (“You have to have a sense of humor to be in real estate,” another more earnest respondent replied.) A couple of names of actual real estate people appeared in our inbox, but nobody more than once, so it felt a little like picking on someone to single them out. (As Joe Pesci emphatically proved in “Goodfellas,” being called funny can definitely not be taken as a compliment.) Instead (at the urging of one of our respondents) we picked on someone who seems to open himself up to ridicule every time he goes on television or butt-dials a reporter: New York’s 107th mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
Most Likely To Succeed
Jonathan Gray
This was a tough one. Technically, we had a tie between Gray and Brookfield’s Ben Brown. However, one respondent said, “Hate to say it, but Blackstone. In the coming distress environment there is an advantage to scale.” We have to count that as a vote for Gray. But other names bandied about were Jared Epstein, Michael Shvo, Steve Ross and Larry Silverstein, all of whom would be excellent choices. Or, as another respondent said, “Everyone on this list has already succeeded.”
Most Likely to be Mayor
Scott Rechler
For not the first time in these pages, New York’s real estate owners have fondly mused about what it would be like if Scott Rechler became mayor of New York, winning far more votes than any other name mentioned. The RXR head is one of the more civically engaged members of the real estate community, having served on the Port Authority and MTA boards, as well as on the 9/11 Memorial board, the board of the Drum Major Institute and as a trustee for the Long Island Children’s Museum. Of course, Rechler’s name wasn’t the only one mentioned. MaryAnne Gilmartin and Don Peebles were also bandied about, as was Don Capoccia, who would be the first openly gay mayor in NYC history. But, should you choose to run, Scott, you have the real estate vote sewn up.
