Rick Matthews, Rubenstein’s Co-Head of Real Estate, Dies at 71
By Isabelle Durso January 22, 2025 10:26 am
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Rick Matthews, a publicist and the co-head of power public relations firm Rubenstein’s real estate team, has died at the age of 71.
Barbara Wagner, a former executive vice president at Rubenstein who left the firm in 2021 to start her own Barbara Wagner Communications, confirmed the news to Commercial Observer.
“Rick was a very encouraging and kind person,” Wagner told CO. “He really gave everyone their due and ran a very collaborative team.”
Matthews was a managing director at Rubenstein — named the 12th most powerful PR firm in the United States by Observer in 2023 — and helped oversee its real estate industry practice, which provides services to both commercial and residential property owners, developers and brokers, according to his LinkedIn page. Rubenstein’s real estate clients include Vornado Realty Trust, Tishman Speyer and Rudin.
After working at Prudential Insurance for 23 years, Matthews began working at Rubenstein in 1998 as senior vice president, his LinkedIn shows.
Then after working at Trizec Properties for four years, Matthews returned to Rubenstein in 2005. He began his most recent role as Rubenstein’s managing director in 2016 and retired in 2022, Wagner said.
“Rick was at Rubenstein for nearly two decades, ultimately coming to lead our real estate practice,” Steven Rubenstein, president at Rubenstein, told CO. “His knowledge of both our industry and the real estate business was deep, and he brought his wisdom to bear for his clients every day. Most importantly, he was deeply devoted to his family. They don’t make them like Rick anymore. We’ll miss him.”
Matthews lived in Sussex, N.J., and graduated from Pennsylvania State University, according to his LinkedIn.
He was also an active member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE), Wagner said.
“Rick was a dedicated volunteer who assisted the NAREE real estate journalists’ organization for many, many years,” Ralph Bivins, a journalist and past president of NAREE, told CO. “Rick knew hundreds of reporters and you can’t find anybody who could say anything bad about him. He will be missed.”
He is survived by his wife, Susan; his children Evan, Emma and Anna Shaffner; his brother Robert, his sister Cynthia Ohrberg and his two grandchildren. Funeral services for Matthews will take place Friday, according to his family’s tribute.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
