Judah Hertz
{{Infobox person
| name = Judah Hertz
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and given age|2021|2|4|72}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| known_for = Hertz Investment Group
| education =
| alma mater =
| employer =
| occupation = Real estate investor
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| boards =
| spouse = Astrid Hertz
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
}}
Judah Hertz (1948 or 1949 – February 4, 2021) was an American real estate investor and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Hertz Investment Group and owned many office buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, the New Orleans Central Business District and other cities across the Southern United States.
Early life
Judah Hertz was born circa 1948/1949 in Brooklyn, New York City.{{cite news|last1=Moran|first1=Kate|title=As real estate prices plunge across the country, investor Judah Hertz says he's happy in low-key New Orleans|url=http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/03/as_real_estate_prices_plunge_a.html|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=The Times-Picayune|date=March 15, 2009|quote=Hertz, 60, gravitates toward stable...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513041742/http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/03/as_real_estate_prices_plunge_a.html|archive-date=May 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Webber Sadovi|first1=Maura|title=Small Cities Lure Investor|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203735304577166670998014922|accessdate=May 2, 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=January 18, 2012}}
Career
Hertz founded the Hertz Investment Group, a real estate investment company based in Santa Monica, California, in 1979.{{cite web|title=Company Overview of Hertz Investment Group LLC: Judah Hertz|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=23076532&privcapId=22275153|website=Bloomberg|accessdate=May 2, 2016}} The company includes a subsidiary, Sapphire Gaming, which invests in casinos.{{cite news|title=Nevada Denies L.A. Developer Gaming License|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-21-fi-2761-story.html|access-date=May 2, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=December 21, 2000}}
Hertz acquired the California Mart, also known as the California Market Center, in Downtown Los Angeles in 2000, only to sell the building complex to investor David Lee for US$135 million in 2004-2005.{{cite news|last1=Vincent|first1=Roger|title=Major L.A. Landlord Buying California Market Center|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-nov-12-fi-mart12-story.html|access-date=May 11, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=November 12, 2004}}{{cite news|last1=Vincent|first1=Roger|title=California Market Purchase Is Completed|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-30-fi-rup30.5-story.html|access-date=May 11, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=April 30, 2005}} By 2000, Hertz was the owner of "about 3 million square feet of office space" in Downtown Los Angeles.
Hertz acquired the Comstock Hotel & Casino in Reno, Nevada in 1999, but sold it by 2000. However, by 2000, he was denied a license in Nevada by the Nevada Gaming Commission, then chaired by Brian Sandoval. Hertz denied any wrongdoing.
Four weeks before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hertz acquired several buildings in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, including the Hyatt Regency, the Dominion Tower, the New Orleans Centre, and One Shell Square.{{cite news|last1=Pristin|first1=Terry|title=A New Orleans Project Is Missing Some Pieces|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/realestate/commercial/27orleans.html?fta=y|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=September 27, 2006}} He also acquired the Poydras Center, the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company Building, the Texaco Center on Poydras Street. In total, he spent US$200 million.{{cite news|title=Very few takers for loans to rebuild New Orleans|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/business/worldbusiness/06iht-orleans.html|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=March 6, 2006}} Hertz weathered the hurricane thanks to his insurance.{{cite news|last1=Fitch|first1=Stephanie|title=The Katrina Effect: Inbound Traffic|url=https://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/1003/052a.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105180559/http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/1003/052a.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=Forbes|date=October 3, 2005}} By 2006, Hertz was in disagreement with Laurence S. Geller, the chief executive officer of the Strategic Hotels & Resorts, over the ownership of the Hyatt Regency.
Hertz subsequently acquired buildings in Downtown Memphis.{{cite news|last1=Wei|first1=Lingling|title=Guarantee Gamble: Developers Dread Return of Recourse|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121375012895082849|accessdate=May 2, 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 18, 2008}} In 2007, he began acquiring buildings in Jackson, Mississippi, including the "Pinnacle, One Jackson Place, 111 East Capitol, Regions Plaza and Regions Bank Building."{{cite news|last1=Chandler|first1=Clay|title=Hertz Investment Group buys City Centre from Parkway|url=http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/2015/10/01/hertz-buys-city-centre-parkway/73144142/|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=The Clarion-Ledger|date=October 1, 2015}} By 2015, Hertz returned to investing in New Orleans real estate and acquired One Shell Square.{{cite news|last1=Lipsinski|first1=Jed|title=One Shell Square sold to Hertz Investment Group|url=http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2015/06/hertz_one_shell_square.html|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=The Times-Picayune}} He also acquired office buildings in Birmingham, Alabama, Columbia, South Carolina and Greensboro, North Carolina.{{cite news|last1=Carter|first1=Ted|title=Hertz group makes largest acquisition in firm's history|url=http://msbusiness.com/2015/06/hertz-group-makes-largest-acquisition-in-firms-history/|accessdate=May 11, 2016|work=Mississippi Business Journal|date=June 11, 2015}} Hertz spent US$417 million on the buildings in the four cities. That same year, he acquired City Centre, another high-rise building in Jackson, Mississippi, from Parkway Properties.
Philanthropy
Hertz has held an annual fundraiser for the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center at UCLA since 1997.{{cite news|last1=Champeau|first1=Rachel|title=Event Raises Funds for the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Event-Raises-Funds-for-the-Ahmanson-4199|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=UCLA Newsroom|date=May 12, 2003}}{{cite web|title=Ways To Give. Hertz Annual Fundraiser|url=http://heart.ucla.edu/site.cfm?id=215#hertz|website=UCLA|accessdate=May 10, 2016}} For example, it raised US$155,000 in 2003.
Hertz served on the World Chairman's Council of the Jewish National Fund, which means he has donated US$1 million or more to the JNF.{{cite web|title=World's Chairman Council|url=http://www.jnf.org/assets/pdf/world-chairman-s-council-ad.pdf|website=Jewish National Fund|access-date=2016-05-11|archive-date=2015-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912093518/http://www.jnf.org/assets/pdf/world-chairman-s-council-ad.pdf|url-status=dead}}
Personal life
Hertz had a wife, Astrid.{{cite news|last1=Hackett|first1=Kathleen|title=House Tour: A Malibu Home Steeped in Worldly Charm|url=http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/g104/malibu-home-tour-martyn-lawrence-bullard/?slide=1|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=Elle Decor|date=October 12, 2014}} Their wedding was held in Bel Air, Los Angeles in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Kisker|first1=Jacquelyn|title=Timeless Fall Estate Wedding in Bel Air, California: Astrid & Judah Hertz|url=https://www.insideweddings.com/weddings/timeless-fall-estate-wedding-in-bel-air-california/213/|accessdate=May 10, 2016|work=Inside Weddings|date=October 17, 2013}} He died on February 4, 2021, in Los Angeles, California.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertz, Judah}}
Category:People from Malibu, California
Category:American businesspeople in real estate
Category:American company founders
Category:Philanthropists from California
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:Philanthropists from Brooklyn
Category:Real estate and property developers from Brooklyn
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:20th-century American philanthropists