What is Andre Balazs' Net Worth?
Andre Balazs is a prominent hotelier and residential developer, boasting a substantial net worth of $800 million. His impressive portfolio includes seven top-tier hotels located in key cities such as New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Notable properties under his ownership include Chateau Marmont, The Mercer, Sunset Beach, and the Standard Hotels, which have branches in Downtown LA, West Hollywood, Miami, and New York.
Early Life
André Tomes Balazs was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 31, 1957. His father, a respected professor at Harvard's medical school, later became the director of ophthalmic research at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Andre pursued humanities at Cornell University as a College Scholar and later earned a master's degree through a joint journalism and business program at Columbia University.
Business Ventures
In 1988, André co-founded Biomatrix with his father, a company that developed innovative skin and eye care products. They sold Biomatrix to Genzyme for a remarkable $738 million in 2000.
Hotel Empire
Andre's journey into hospitality began in the late 1980s with investments in various nightclubs and restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. His first notable acquisition was New York's Mercer Hotel in SoHo in 1989. A year later, he bought the iconic Chateau Marmont in LA for $12 million. His portfolio expanded to include luxurious boutique hotels globally, such as the Chiltern Firehouse in London and The Standard, which now boasts six locations. In 2013, he divested 80% of The Standard.
Personal Life
From 1985 to 2004, André was married to Katie Ford, founder of Ford Models, with whom he has two daughters. He was romantically linked to actress Uma Thurman, and they were potentially engaged between 2004 and 2007. In 2017, Andre welcomed a child with socialite Cosima Vesey.
Real Estate Holdings
In 2003, Andre purchased a 4,200 square-foot condo in New York's SoHo neighborhood for $5.75 million. He attempted to sell the property in 2007 for $10 million, re-listed it in 2017 for $12 million, and again in 2020 at the same price. Besides this condo, he owns several other homes across the US.
