George Marcus will be Grand Marshal of New York Greek Parade

George M. Marcus, distinguished member of the Leadership 100 Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, has been chosen as Grand Marshal of the New York Greek Parade to be held on April 14.

The Greek-American real estate tycoon accepted the honor to be the Grand Marshal of the parade for Greek Independence that takes place every year on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.

Thousands of Greek-Americans and philhellenes are expected to watch the traditional parade and participate in the festivities to mark the 198th anniversary of the revolution against the Ottoman Turks and Greece’s liberation.

The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York has announced that the 81st annual Greek Parade will start on 64th street and continue on to 79th Street, at 1:30 pm. This year no Greek government representatives have been invited to the parade.

According to Forbes, George Marcus’ current net worth is $1.5 billion. Most of his fortune lies in a 54 percent stake in Marcus & Millichap, the publicly traded real estate brokerage he founded in 1971.

Marcus & Millichap specializes in commercial real estate in the U.S. and Canada, closing nearly 9,000 transactions valued at $42.3 billion in 2016, Forbes says.

Marcus also controls a 2.4 percent stake in Essex Property Trust, a REIT he founded that owns 59,000 apartments along the West Coast.

Marcus also has a stake in several private real-estate and investment companies, including SummerHill Housing Group and Pacific Urban Residential.

George Marcus was born George Moutsanas in Euboea, Greece in 1941. He migrated to America with his family in 1945.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University in 1965. Six years later he co-founded Marcus & Millichap with William A. Millichap.

During the 1980s he was a trustee of the California State University and is a member of the CSU Foundation’s Board of Governors. He also served 12 years as a University of California regent.

Marcus is married to Judy Otten Marcus and they live in Los Altos Hills, California.

Marcus is very active in the Greek community. He founded and is the current president of the National Hellenic Society, which brings together distinguished Greek-Americans with the aim to preserve their heritage.

He is also a well-known philanthropist. Marcus and his wife Judy donated $3 million to help found SFSU’s International Center for the Arts. In 2017, he donated $1 million to Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

In 2018, George and Judy Marcus donated $25 million to SFSU to establish the George and Judy Marcus Funds for Excellence in the Liberal Arts. The funds will support students and faculty in liberal and creative art programs. This donation follows a $1.8 million donation the year before to establish an athletics scholarship fund at the school.

(Source: Forbes)