John Catsimatidis
John Catsimatidis
John A. Catsimatidisis a Greek-American billionaire businessman and radio talk show host. He is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods, the largest grocery chain in Manhattan, and the Red Apple Group, a real estate and aviation company with about $700 million to $800 million in holdings in New York, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Catsimatidis also owns the Hellenic Times, a Greek-American newspaper based in Manhattan. He is also the chairman and CEO of the Red...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth7 September 1948
Anytime you cut food stamps, it naturally affects sales. People spend less.
I put $5 million into the real-estate business when the world was coming to an end, and three years later, by 1980, I woke up and was worth a hundred. That's a lot of money back then.
I promoted myself as a fusion ticket. I was running as a Republican liberal.
I'm a visionary. I'm not a maintenance person.
I could be like Joe Kennedy and say, 'My kids are going to run for president!'
I'm not ashamed of being successful. You know, they criticized Romney for being ashamed of it. I think we've got to inspire our kids that we shouldn't be ashamed to be successful.
I'm not a Johnny-come-lately Jew. I've been around. I watch out for the Jews; I watch out for the Catholics.
I just want to reflect the respect I have for animals.
Am I a Republican? Yes. Am I a Democrat? Yes. Am I a conservative? Yes. Am I a liberal? Yes.
I believe that all people that are successful should pay back their cities, their states, their towns, our country.
I was a Clinton Democrat for twenty years.
I have a love factor with the minorities.
In your company or industry, work every job in that industry. It's the only way of having a complete understanding of your people and your company.
I believe business has to do well and that the surrounding communities do well.