Joseph Moinian

Early life

Moinian was born in Teheran to an Iranian Jewish family, the son of Ayoub Moinian and Sara Moinian. His father was also a real estate developer. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. His brother is real estate developer Morris Moinian, founder of Fortuna Realty Group. His other brother is real estate developer David Moinian, founder of Moin Development Corp.

Career

In 1982, Moinian founded the ladies’ apparel company Billy Jack for Her. In 1990, he founded the Moinian Group to invest in real estate, leveraging his earnings from his apparel company to purchase loft buildings in Manhattan. In 1999, he purchased the art deco 1775 Broadway from Lester Weindling for $130 million. He quickly renovated it wrapping the building in glass. In 2004, he was an investor, taking a 25% stake, in a group that purchased the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago for $840 million with partners Lloyd Goldman, Joseph Chetrit, and Jeffrey Feil, eventually changing the name to the Willis Tower in 2009. Between 2005 and 2007, he expanded his portfolio taking advantage of the willingness of banks to lend at the time, financing the transactions with interest-only loans and very little of his own money. In 2010, he completed the 57 story W New York Downtown hotel and Residences. Moinian is working to develop a new 66-story, 1,700,000 square feet (160,000 m²) building named 3 Hudson Boulevard in the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. In 2007, Moinian acquired 550 South Hill Street, an International Jewelry Center in Downtown, Los Angeles for $144 million. In 2006, Moinian acquired a 4.5 acre property across the street from Staples Center in Downtown, Los Angeles for $80 million from Anschutz Entertainment Group and then sold it in 2013 for $180 million to Beijing-based property developer Oceanwide Holdings

Personal life

Moinian is married to Nazee Moinian, also from Iran, who he met when he was 26. They have five children and live in Manhattan. They also have a house in Quogue, New York on Long Island. His eldest child, Matt Moinian, is a senior vice president at his father's firm.