Neal Aronson
{{Short description|American businessman (born 1965)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date= September 2024}}
{{Use American English|date= September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Neal Aronson
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| birth_name = Neal Keith Aronson
| birth_date = {{bya|1965}}
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| nationality = American
| education = Lehigh University
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| known for = Founder and managing partner, Roark Capital Group
Co-founder, U.S. Franchise Systems
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| spouse = Wendy L. Conrad
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| children = 3
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Neal Keith Aronson (born 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder and managing partner of Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm.{{Cite news |last=Sorvino |first=Chloe |title=The Drive-Thru Billionaire Who's Trying To Save Subway |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2023/09/20/the-drive-thru-billionaire-whos-trying-to-save-subway/ |date=20 September 2023|access-date=22 September 2024 |website=Forbes}}
Aronson earned a bachelor's degree from Lehigh University.{{cite web |title=Leadership Breakfast Series: Neal Aronson, Founder & Managing Partner of Roark Capital |url=https://www.hbs-atlanta.org/s/1738/cc/21/page.aspx?sid=1738&gid=12&pgid=64650&crid=0&calpgid=13&calcid=1392 |website=HBS |access-date=22 September 2024}} He started his career in the corporate finance department of Drexel Burnham Lambert.
In 1995, together with his uncle, Mike Leven, a former president of Holiday Inn, he co-founded U.S. Franchise Systems, and expanded a regional chain of 27 hotels into the US's tenth-largest hotel franchisor with more than 1,100 properties before selling it to the Pritzker family's Hyatt Hotels in 2000 for $100 million, earning Aronson about $10 million.{{cite news |last1=Sorvino |first1=Chloe |title=Why Fast Food's Smartest Operator Is Expanding When Business Is Terrible |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2020/07/27/why-fast-foods-smartest-operator-is-expanding-when-business-is-terrible/ |access-date=22 September 2024 |work=Forbes |date=July 27, 2020}}
In 2001, Aronson founded Roark Capital.
As of May 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$4.1 billion.
Aronson is married to Wendy Conrad; they live in Atlanta, Georgia and have three children.{{cite news |last1=Ewen |first1=Beth |title=A Deal to Envy How Roark Capital wins the big brands |url=https://www.franchisetimes.com/article_archive/a-deal-to-envy/article_ab1f54b3-9ad3-5714-a92d-8df33072b8b1.html |access-date=22 September 2024 |work=Franchise Times |date=12 October 2020}}