David Walentas
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Real estate
- Industry
- Real Estate
- Residence
- New York, New York
- Education
- University of Virginia (Bachelor of Arts/Science)
- Marital Status
- Widowed
- Children
- 1
Biography
David Walentas founded Two Trees Management, which is best known for transforming two Brooklyn neighborhoods, Dumbo and Williamsburg.
Walentas owns over two dozen residential and commercial properties across Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg and Manhattan.
In the 1970s he borrowed $12 million to buy 2 million square feet of industrial buildings in an unpopular part of Brooklyn that later became Dumbo.
He acquired the Domino Sugar refinery's 11 acres in Brooklyn for $185.5 million in 2012 and is remaking it; the first tower opened in 2017.
Walentas works closely with his son Jed, who became CEO of Two Trees in 2011.
About
Walentas grew up poor in Rochester, New York, milking cows and shoveling manure on a farm.
He was kicked out of Navy ROTC at the University of Virginia for "raising some hell" with a lady. He eventually became the first college graduate in his family.
Walentas has pledged $100 million to the University of Virginia, his alma mater, mostly to fund opportunities for first-generation students.