Stanley Chera

{{Infobox person

| name = Stanley Chera

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|10|22}}

| birth_place = New York City, US

| birth_name = Stanley Isaac Chera

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|4|11|1942|10|22}}

| death_place = New York City, US

| education =

| occupation = Businessman, investor

| known_for = Founder of Crown Acquisitions

| spouse = Frieda

| parents =

| children = 3

| family =

| website =

}}

Stanley Isaac Chera (October 22, 1942 – April 11, 2020) was an American billionaire, businessman and investor.{{Cite news |last=Washington |first=David Charter |date=2023-12-08 |title=Coronavirus: US pays a high price for Trump's mixed messages |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/coronavirus-us-donald-trump-mixed-messages-america-0j3cwv86c |access-date=2023-12-08 |issn=0140-0460}} The founder of Crown Acquisitions.{{cite news|last=Marino|first=Vivian|title=Stanley Chera|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/realestate/27SqFt.html|work=New York Times|date=June 25, 2010|access-date=December 9, 2017}} Born in Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family, Chera started purchasing real estate in New York City in the 1980s, first as a minority partner and later in the 2000s as the lead developer. In 2017, his net worth was estimated at $4 billion.{{Cite web |date=2017-12-04 |title=Wealthy Trump Donors Buy Access And Tax Breaks |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wealthy-trump-donors-buy-access-and-tax-breaks_b_5a25326ce4b04dacbc9bd8e3/amp |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}

Chera had a wife and three sons. Chera died due to complications brought on by COVID-19.{{Cite web|date=2020-04-11|title=Crown Acquisitions Founder Stanley Chera Dies of Coronavirus|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/04/11/stanley-chera-titan-of-nyc-retail-dies-of-covid-19/|access-date=2020-07-06|website=The Real Deal New York|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=2020-04-17|title=Stanley Chera, Developer and Friend of Trump, Dies at 77|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/stanley-chera-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=2020-07-06|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Lois |date=2020-04-13 |title=Real estate mogul Stanley Chera dead at 78 from coronavirus |url=https://nypost.com/2020/04/13/real-estate-mogul-stanley-chera-dead-at-78-from-coronavirus/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |language=en-US}}

Early life

Chera was born on October 22, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Syrian Jewish family.{{Cite news|first= Adam|last=Pincus |authorlink= |title= The Syrian retail touch - An inside look at the Syrian Jewish investors dominating NYC retail — from Sutton to Sitt, including how much revenue they're pulling in" |newspaper=The Real Deal|date=January 1, 2014 |url=http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/the-syrian-retail-touch/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120155042/https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/the-syrian-retail-touch/| archive-date=January 20, 2021}}{{Cite web|first=Adam |last=Pincus |authorlink= |title= Clans with plans |publisher=The Real Deal|date= February 1, 2011|url=https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/clans-with-plans/ |via=The Wayback Machine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075701/https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/clans-with-plans/| archive-date=March 4, 2016|quote= }}{{Cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/04/11/stanley-chera-titan-of-nyc-retail-dies-of-covid-19/|title=Crown Acquisitions Founder Stanley Chera Dies of Coronavirus|date=April 11, 2020|website=The Real Deal New York|language=en-US|access-date=April 12, 2020}} In 1947, his father Isaac Chera opened a retail store called Young World in Brooklyn. The family later purchased the building and grew Young World into a chain purchasing the buildings as they expanded.

Career

In the 1980s, Chera (then in charge of the family company) started purchasing real estate in New York City at first as a minority partner and later in 2000s as the lead developer. Chera was known for developing or "repositioning" the retail portion of his buildings and then selling the property.

In a joint venture with The Carlyle Group and Charles Kushner, Chera sold the retail portion of 666 Fifth Avenue in two transactions for more than $1 billion;[http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/06/03/crown-highgate-to-pay-1-3b-for-650-madison/ The Real Deal: "$1.3B sale of 650 Madison hinges on dramatic increase in retail value, sources say" by Adam Pincus] June 3, 2013 and also the retail portion of the St. Regis Hotel in a joint venture with Lloyd Goldman and Jeffrey Feil for $380 million.[http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=4317:chera-familys-crown-acquisitions-buys-650-madison-for-13-billion&Itemid=299 Jewish Voice New York: "Chera Family's Crown Acquisitions Buys 650 Madison for $1.3 Billion" By Boruch Shubert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428102903/http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=4317:chera-familys-crown-acquisitions-buys-650-madison-for-13-billion&Itemid=299 |date=April 28, 2016 }} June 5, 2013 In 2010, he began the restoration of The Knickerbocker Hotel in Manhattan.[http://therealdeal.com/blog/2010/06/28/stanley-chera-dishes-on-the-knickerbocker-1/ The Real Deal: "Stanley Chera dishes on the Knickerbocker"] June 28, 2010 In 2012, Chera purchased 49.9% interest in a four-building Fifth Avenue portfolio that included the Olympic Tower for $1 billion from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.[http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/05/14/crown-acquisitions-takes-stake-in-1b-fifth-ave-portfolio/ The Real Deal: "Crown takes stake in $1B Fifth Avenue portfolio"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626190014/http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/05/14/crown-acquisitions-takes-stake-in-1b-fifth-ave-portfolio/ |date=June 26, 2015 }} May 14, 2012

In June 2013, Chera purchased 650 Madison Avenue for $1.3 billion in partnership with Highgate Holdings from the Carlyle Group. He was an investor in the One World Trade Center and accumulated significant property in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Crown was also a prominent investor (along with Albert Laboz, Joseph Jemal, and Eli Gindi) in the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn.[http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/families-plot-fulton-mall-face-lift/ The Real Deal: "Families plot Fulton Mall face-lift - A parcel-by-parcel look at what the corridor's tight-knit group of owners has in store" By Patrick Egan] January 31, 2011 Chera had a conservative investment strategy borrowing no more than 25–35% of the purchase price given that they were long term holders in assets. In 2009, Crown held {{Convert|15000000|ft2||abbr=}} real estate in New York City.[http://observer.com/2009/11/bigtime-fight-over-st-regis-retail-chera-cries-conspiracy-in-lawsuit/?show=all New York Observer: "Big-Time Fight Over St. Regis Retail; Chera Cries 'Conspiracy' in Lawsuit" By Dana Rubinstein] November 10, 2009

Personal life

Chera and his wife Frieda, nicknamed "Cookie",{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2020/04/13/real-estate-mogul-stanley-chera-dead-at-78-from-coronavirus/|title=Stanley Chera, real estate mogul and friend of Trump, dead at 78 from coronavirus|first=Lois|last=Weiss|date=April 13, 2020|accessdate=April 13, 2020|work=New York Post}} had three sons: Isaac "Ike", Haim, and Richard, all active in the family business.[http://commercialobserver.com/2013/05/cartier-versace-vuitton-financing-next-gen-at-crowns-ritzy-retail-focus/ Commercial Observer: "Cartier! Versace! Vuitton! Financing Next Gen at Crown's Ritzy Retail Focus" by Alessia Pirolo] May 29, 2013 Chera was a leader in the Brooklyn Sephardic Jewish community. Chera was an associate and friend of Donald Trump, and donated to the Trump Victory Committee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/newsletters/politico-new-york-real-estate/2018/08/16/trumps-real-estate-buds-100753|title=Trump's real estate buds|last=RASKIN|first=SALLY GOLDENBERG with SAM|website=Politico PRO|language=en|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=April 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412032010/https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/newsletters/politico-new-york-real-estate/2018/08/16/trumps-real-estate-buds-100753|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|last=Haberman|first=Maggie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/us/politics/trump-friend-coronavirus-stanley-chera.html|title=Friend Who Trump Says Has Coronavirus Is a New York Developer|date=April 1, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 12, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Death

Chera was hospitalized for an unknown illness in March 2020{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2020/03/24/developer-and-trump-pal-stanley-chera-hospitalized/|title=Developer and Trump pal Stanley Chera hospitalized|last=Weiss|first=Lois|newspaper=New York Post|date=March 24, 2020|accessdate=April 11, 2020}} and later tested positive for COVID-19. Prior to his hospitalization, he had relocated to his home in Deal, New Jersey.{{cite news|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/04/01/stanley-chera-in-coma-with-covid-19/|title=Stanley Chera in coma with Covid-19|publisher=The Real Deal|date=April 1, 2020|accessdate=April 11, 2020}} Chera entered a coma the following week{{Cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/04/01/stanley-chera-in-coma-with-covid-19/|title=Stanley Chera In Coma With COVID-19 - The Real Deal|date=April 1, 2020|website=The Real Deal New York}} and died on April 11, 2020.{{cite web |title=Stanley Chera, titan of NYC retail, dies of coronavirus |url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/04/11/stanley-chera-titan-of-nyc-retail-dies-of-covid-19/ |website=The Real Deal |date = April 11, 2020|accessdate=April 11, 2020}} His wife also contracted the virus, but recovered.

Donald Trump, in a May 2020 Fox News interview,{{cite news|url=https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-virtual-town-hall-transcript-may-3|title=Donald Trump Virtual Town Hall Transcript|last=Staff|website=Rev.com|date=May 3, 2020|accessdate=May 4, 2020}} described Chera's death as having a high impact on his thinking:

{{Quote|I've lost three friends. One, a very good friend, a very successful man, New York guy, employed a lot of people that were all crying over his death. Stanley Chera. He went to the hospital, he calls me up. He goes, "I tested positive." I said, "Well, what are you going to do?" He said, "I'm going to the hospital. I'll call you tomorrow." He didn't call. I call the hospital, he's in a coma. Now, I know a lot of people that had the flu, they were never in a coma.}}

When Trump contracted COVID-19 himself, he was reported to have asked if he was "going out like Stan Chera".{{Cite web|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/donald-trump-repeatedly-asked-am-22788811|title=Donald Trump repeatedly asked "am I going to die?" after coronavirus diagnosis|website=Daily Mirror |date=October 3, 2020}}