Nationality United States Ethnicity Jewish | Name Izak Senbahar | |
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Born March 21, 1959 (age 65) ( 1959-03-21 ) Istanbul, Turkey Spouse(s) Sarah Senbahar (nee Genske) Children Alexi SenbaharOliver Senbahar Residence New York City, New York, United States |
Izak Senbahar (born March 21, 1959, in Istanbul, Turkey) is an entrepreneur, hotelier, and real estate developer. He is president of Alexico Group LLC, which is involved in luxury residential and hotel development. According to The Real Deal magazine, the combined value of the company’s projects in 2014 was approximately $2 billion.
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Early life and education

Born to a Jewish family, the son of Fani and Sabatay Senbahar, Senbahar studied at the French Lycée in Istanbul (Lycée français Pierre-Loti) and moved to the United States in 1977 to attend the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1981. He then attended New York University, receiving a master's degree in international finance in 1983.
Career

Before entering real estate, Senbahar worked as a precious metals trader at the New York City offices of Groupe Sucre et Denrées (SUCDEN), a French commodities broker. In the mid-1980s, he joined Kiska, a Turkish construction firm, to help the company establish itself in the New York real estate market. With Kiska, Senbahar oversaw the development of various properties including 353 Central Park West, a 19-story luxury condominium building. Subsequently, he partnered with Steven Elghanayan to develop the Elektra, a 32-story condominium in New York City’s Gramercy Park neighborhood; the building, completed in 1992, was later sold to Beth Israel Medical Center (now Mount Sinai Beth Israel). In 1993, Senbahar formed Alexico Group and joint ventured with Simon Elias to develop a number of projects.
Selected projects

Personal life
He is married to Sarah Genske; they have two children, Alexi and Oliver. In an interview with The Real Deal magazine, Senbahar said that he enjoys “drumming, percussion and bongos.” On January 1, 2014, The New York Post reported that at a New Year’s Eve party the night before, “Paul McCartney brought the house down by spontaneously jumping on stage to sing Wings’ tune ‘Goodnight Tonight’ and luxury developer Izak Senbahar accompanied him on bongos.” A self-described perfectionist, Senbahar stated in a New York Times interview, “I am working on many things in my personality—by the time I expire, I’ll be perfect.”