🎙️ Meet the man building America's skyline. Episode 36 with real estate icon Russell Galbut

For his first project, his parents invested their life savings. He traveled to New York and borrowed the rest of the money from an absolute stranger that he met in synagogue. Today an icon in development and building across the United States. The fascinating story of Russell Galbut this week on Jewish Grit. >> [music] [music] >> Welcome to Jewish Grit coming out of beautiful sunny somewhat warm Florida. And you cannot come to Florida without meeting one of the founders. I guess you could say it is a distinct pleasure to welcome to today's podcast Russell Galbut. Thank you so much for joining us. It's my pleasure really enjoyable. And Russell you bring five decades of real estate to the table and to the conversation. Correct? >> That's correct. That's correct. I built my first condominium on Miami Beach 7 1975. So 50 years ago it was our first condominium still standing today. It did the wind didn't blow it down. The wind didn't blow it down. But it was quite a difference because in those days it was seven pages of plans that I brought into the chief building official on a Monday and I got my permit on a Thursday. Today that same building that's what I said >> [laughter] >> in an effort to expedite the process today it would take 700 pages and over a year to get a permit. So what a difference. So take us back to like your childhood. I you're one of the few Jews that didn't migrate from the tri-state area New York New Jersey to Florida. You were born and bred. >> Born and bred in Florida and my whole family is and and actually we were fortunate because my grandparents on my father's side came to Florida in the 20s. So >> European immigrants? >> They were European immigrants but my father was born in the Bronx. So, my father did immigrate from the Bronx with his sister and his brother and and their parents came in in the late '20s and actually moved here in '30. And they started their own drugstore and and but my they were very charitable people. So, they started the Jewish cemetery which is Mount Sinai cemetery. They started the synagogue that was built with Beth Jacob at the time cuz Jews weren't allowed north of 14th Street. And so a lot of those things because to them being part of the community was very important. Masim Tovim were very important and they were less concentrated on making you know financial rewards. So, it was very different. 50 years I've been building in the real estate world. I'm the youngest of four brothers and a really wonderful family that we all grew up together on Miami Beach. What was Jewish life like as growing up as a child here? It was really quite different. I mean, you know, today we have so many wonderful kosher restaurants, so many synagogues to go to. When we were a child when I was a child, we had to go out to all the way out south to go to the Continental restaurant on Coral Way, believe it or not. But we did have the Royal Hungarian that was strictly kosher. We had a lot of kosher style restaurants like the famous and and great many others that were kosher style. But really we for kosher restaurants, we really had very few. Today, I think we have more than 40 or 50. Were there Jewish day schools here? >> And there was one Jewish day school. It was called the Hebrew Academy on 6th Street and Jefferson Avenue in South Beach. And it was a wonderful wonderful school, a wonderful opportunity growing up in South Beach and very different because it was a very small town. Everybody knew each other. So, you knew what everybody else was doing and the community itself and it really was the synagogue that everybody concentrated again around, which was known as Beth Jacob in South Beach, south of fifth. So, it was really it was really quite wonderful growing up here and going to Yeshiva and day school here as well. Did you ever imagine or dream that the greater Miami Boca / area would turn into what it is today? It it's it's fascinating to have watched, okay? And a lot of it came about because of affordability. But even even with that, the community itself grew and grew and grew. And it wasn't just people coming from the northeast or coming from California, but it was really the families that were already here growing to from next generation to next generation. When my grandparents relocated, there was only 10 of them. Today, we're over 250 in South Florida. And it isn't that many generations later. So, it's that it's amazing. Amazing. That's wonderful. Tell us a little bit how you started your real estate journey. Like, you built that first condominium, was that like a dream that you had to get involved in real estate? What what brought you there? So, what what brought me there was I was the youngest of the four kids. My other brothers were doing extremely well. And I always had a desire to to make money because I came from a very humble beginning. My father was a military officer in the United States Navy. He was a career officer for quite some time and then he was in the reserve. But he raised us with a lot of discipline and raised all four of us. My mother was the one who brought religion to the home and love to the home and kindness to the home. And so, we were raised in a very humble beginning. And so, I was trying to when when I left Cornell University, where I went to college, I was trying to figure out how can I make some real money. And the numbers worked cuz I was always good on numbers. And and numbers is the language of business. If you if you don't know numbers, don't be in business, okay? Because >> Become a doctor. Become a doctor. [laughter] Because cuz the numbers tell you whether a deal is good. Because no matter what you do, everything is risk. Everything is risk. So, the idea is to evaluate that risk and evaluate the reward. And you weigh it. It's a weighing test, right? You know, sometimes you have to say to yourself, do I take this risk for this potential return? And so, you know, it was very difficult that first deal, but but again, I I had graduated Cornell. I was working for Laventhol Krekstein Horwath & Horwath and I was the youngest consultant on a national basis with that firm. At that time, it was the 11th largest accounting firm in the world. And Horwath & Horwath was specialist when it came to hotels, real estate, and that type of stuff. So, I would say I got great education there. Um but more importantly is is that I also went to night school to learn construction management and and to get a contractor's degree because I always enjoyed creation. Creation is something that's very close to the Jewish world because in the Jewish world we create. We create young men and young women. We create examples >> Values we create. values values I mean, when you look at the Judaica Christian ethics, I mean, it's all Judeo. I mean, whether you want to know it or not, you can call it what you want, okay? They all come from the 10 Commandments, you know? And and so, when you actually look at it, you know, the whole world is is based upon these Judea ethics and and and values and and love and kindness. So, you know, it was it was that type of thing that I wanted to make this money and so, I went out and bought a piece of land and I said, "Hey, I'm going to build a condominium on it." It was only 12 units, but I projected I could make, you know, 15, 20,000 a unit in those days. I'm talking about 1975. That was a lot of money. A lot of money. What did a house here cost in those days? In in those days a house would be 75, 85, 95,000. Today that same house is $2 million. I mean it's and that's a piece of junk that you tear down to build a new house on, you know, if you're lucky enough to find one for that price. But but that was that was a really an interesting experience because you really what happened in that instance is that there was no bank here that would lend me any money to build the building. You know, so my father believed in me and he so he gave me his life savings. He and my mother gave me their life savings and they were my 50/50 partner to start out with. So when you're starting out in life, you have to count on your family because if your family doesn't believe in you, then no one else is going to believe in you. And we couldn't get a bank here locally to lend us any money. So my mother says, "Russell, you're a good talker. Go to New York and you'll find the money. You know, go to New York and you'll find the money." And that's exactly what I did. They took a $39 airplane ride directly from Miami. >> [laughter] >> People's Express? Do you remember that? No, it was it was I think it was actually called oh, Eastern Airlines. Eastern Airlines. $39. I got to New York and I stayed with some friends and I went looking for the money. And about 5 days later I called my mother and I said, "Mom, you know, I I can't find the money. I'm not successful. I'm coming home." She says, "How dare you think that way?" She was a super lady. Super lady who who really taught me one of the greatest Jewish virtues there ever is and that is as as a Jew and as a businessman you have to follow the fact that you never ever give up. There is never a no, never a no. There's always a way, always a possibility, always an opportunity. And my mother says, "No, you go back and you work harder. Work harder." And sure enough I found the money from another Jewish gentleman who thought me a little bit crazy, but in the end he wound up giving me the money necessarily to build this building and he was the chairman of an incredible bank that was known as Safra Bank in New York, but it was known as Republic Bank here in Miami. Share with us a little bit like where you are in terms of the of the real estate world. What are you building, developing, dreaming? So, you know, we we build large projects and the first key is finding great partners, okay? And I'm lucky because I found great partners almost 40 years ago. I mean, I I have Sunny Khan, one of the most charitable Jewish individuals I know, and I have Bruce Menin who's my baby cousin, who who the three of us really have been such great partners together. So, I'd say the first key to success is finding the right partners and finding the right ethics in your business world, okay? And and always being charitable cuz that's one of the things that we found extremely important to create a community, to be part of a community means all different components of that community. So, from from our perspective of what we do, I mean, we build large buildings, we built the tallest residential tower in Chicago. We've been in gateway cities to America building a superior product because we think that that's the key to our success. And we outpace our comp set by sometimes 20 and 25% and the reason is is because we do build a superior product. We'll spend a little more money on architecture, a little bit more money on design. We'll have we have our own art curator. We have more amenities and better amenities cuz we think through those amenities. And most importantly, we create an app that you can live your life through our Crescent app. So, there's so many different elements that come together to make a Crescent Heights community magical. When you sold your first condominiums and you made your first $15,000 per condominium, did you give some of the money to charity or was to I've always given money to charity. It's And and I've also done it because of my mother anonymously. Because that's the way she taught us. My mother was a very charitable person, a very loving person. Um you know, who really only cared about doing masim tovim. Do you develop in Florida or just gateway cities? So, we develop all over Florida, gateway cities. Last year we we delivered into the marketplace four outstanding products. I mean really outstanding buildings. We built the tallest, the most luxurious condominium building on Miami Beach known as Five Park and built the Canopy Park together with it as a community opportunity and a community asset. We built Forma Miami, which is the finest multi ever built in Dade County. I would challenge anybody to tour it. It's just It's just an incredible property that outperforms its comp set by 20%. Um we built the Gale Miami, which is the was the eighth tallest building in Dade County. Very successful hotel, the Gale Miami Hotel. And we also delivered 72 Collins 72 Park, which is right off of Collins and 72nd Street, which is a magnificent building in that community. The first brand new building that will bring about a renaissance to North Beach and to to to have another place like Surfside, which brings so much light and and such a change, such a transit transition. That in Bal Harbour, the same thing's going to happen on Miami Beach and 72nd Street and and those surrounding areas. Do you keep one apartment in each of them? I couldn't possibly do that. I already have too many homes. Okay. And uh You couldn't keep track [laughter] anymore. I wouldn't be able to keep track of that. Let's let's talk about giving for a second. It sounds like you're a very savvy investor and you're always crunching the numbers and you're trying to figure out where you get the most return for your investment. How do you invest when it comes to philanthropy and charities? I think that that is a very important component of everyone's life. And me, you know, from a personal perspective uh I got very lucky. My My mother selected my wife. Really? >> And 48 years we've been married. Wow. >> And uh she is She is a She is an incredible lady and uh and we made her president uh of our foundation. The reason we made her president of our foundation is it takes work. It really takes work because, you know, there's so much need out there and and so many people who are asking that you really have to understand what they're asking and what their need really is. And maybe that's a little bit of an unfortunate situation, but it's also a fortunate situation when you have somebody as caring and as loving as my wife who actually devotes time um to to that effort. But that's probably one of the more difficult things in life because there is so much need out there. What makes you most proud to be a Jew? I think my family, my kids, uh and what we do for the world and how we benefit the world. You know, in every single thing. You know, I I think that uh you have to be proud uh to be a Jew. Otherwise, you're not cognizant of what's going on in the world. I mean, the way that we stand out, you know, in culture, the way we stand out in virtue, uh in charity, uh in love of fellow mankind. You know, I mean, we we put society and society's needs. We, as a Jewish nation, we are looking to make this a better place than when we found it. Okay? Before we leave the earth. I mean, and go to Hashem, you know, it's it's the type of thing that it's it's part of our ethics. It's part of our belief. We want to leave this place a better place than we found it. And uh and I think that that's that's a lot to be proud of. What's your favorite day of the Jewish calendar year? I I it'd have to be probably Purim, you know, and uh primarily because I get to see my grandchildren and get to laugh with them and and and that's really what stands so important to a Jewish family, you know, it's it's the lineage. Who comes next and what do they learn from you? Okay? Or what do they get from you? Okay? It's easy to give them money, but that's that's meaningless. Money, you know, somebody who's rich today could be poor tomorrow. Somebody who's poor today could be rich tomorrow, but what they do get from you is the values, the sense of family, the sense of of kindness, the sense of charity. That's the virtues that they should be getting from you. So how are you teaching your grandchildren those virtues? Are there experiences that you're curating? We we do. We we do curate experiences. Both of our, you know, we have a family foundation that that we have a board of that they participate in. The grandchildren? The grandchildren. >> That's beautiful. The grandchildren they should participate in, they will participate in and have a full vote at the age of 18. And I think that's a very important thing. That's super cool. You can have a kid in 12th grade who's sitting on a board of, you know, charitable board. >> Yes. Beautiful. What's your what's your strategy over the next Khasim should give you many more decades of health and productivity. Are you going to retire at some point or you going to show up to the office the first and leave the last as long as you possibly can? No, I think, you know, everybody lives a normal life and natural life and you slow down as you get older, okay? But I'm very passionate about what I do. So I don't know when I slow down or when I don't slow down, but I'm in the process of training the next generation to take over, which is extremely important to me because ledor vador, you know? Generation to generation. >> Generation to generation. I didn't have anybody to train me. You know, but I had my mother's values and I had my father's discipline. And it was that combination of things that took me in the right path. Are any of your children involved with your company? >> I'm very lucky. I have one daughter who will take over for the company, for my interest in the company, and my two main partners in my life, you know, outside of my wife, both have children that are coming of age to actually come into the company as well. So, it'll be a different company because it's a lot, you know, it's one thing when you have three partners, it's another thing when maybe you have 10 partners. But that next generation does get along great together, which is key and essential. >> Oh my gosh. It's a blessing, you know, and and and I hope and pray that they continue to get along because we have thought, the three principals have thought that we are multi-generational. And which means basically that we created things that we hope will continue after our generation is gone. Because that's what was important to the three of us. You know, thank God God blessed you with with with with with wealth and with fortune and the ability to give. How did you raise your children, or thinking about your grandchildren now, on one hand to appreciate the gift of what they were born into, and on the other hand to not take for granted what they have and understand that they are important to the equation and it's not it's not just something that they can rely on, but that they need to build on? So, I'll tell you it's very it's a very good question you just asked, okay? And I'm fortunately personally fortunate in the sense that I have a wife who doesn't let any of the children or grandchildren understand the wealth that they have been given. You know, where she basically makes everybody work and respect the value of life and the value of the opportunity that they have. So, I think that's extremely important. I look at my brothers, all immensely I look at myself, you know, from a financial standpoint, immensely successful. So, why? We were raised humbly. We didn't have anything, you know? So, it was positive, very positive for us. And I think that it's very positive for for a child to know that they have to work, they have to succeed on their own. And we'll help them if they fall, but they have to succeed on their own. You have a microphone in front of you, the potential of reaching up to 80,000 young professionals, many of them starting their careers, considering the Jewish home they want to build. What's one or two pieces of advice that you could tell them that they could incorporate into their life and hopefully make themselves a little bit more successful? Well, I would say that probably the two most important things in my life have been I've never not been on a personal search for excellence. Uh before I go to bed, I can't go to bed without reading. I think reading is is a blessing. And I read all sorts of financial magazines, analysis. I mean, I I grew up, you know, real estate finance I grew up on. But you know what? I still love reading a book on it. I I think reading and and is extreme learning. You you have to be on your never-ending search for excellence. I think that's key. I would also say part of our Judaic ethics is this philosophy of never giving up, never taking no for an answer. We made a terrible mistake many generations ago by walking into the ovens. Well, we will never go gently into the night again, ever. Ever. We will never give up again. That's got to be part of our our mainstay. And then I would say, do what you enjoy. Because if you don't enjoy it, if you're not passionate about it, you're not going to do it well. I'm passionate about creation. I love cement. I love bricks and mortar. And and you know what? I've I've always felt that way. I've always loved that. And then finally, I would say a personal recommendation is make sure it works on a piece of paper and pencil. Because if building a building doesn't work on a piece of paper and pencil, it's not going to work in cement and brick and mortar. It's not going to work that way. So, those are suggestions for anyone else who wants to follow a career in the real estate world. Russell, I feel bad for all the people that are just going to have to watch this or listen to this cuz I feel the passion. I see the conviction in your eyes. I see the drive. And I so appreciate you taking the time to share it with us. I wish you many, many more years of success, of nachas and pride from your children. And thank you so much for this very valuable opportunity. Thank you. Thank you, Rabbi. It's really been fun. Thank you for listening to Jewish Grit, an Olami Mentorship podcast. At Olami Mentorship, we believe that everyone needs a mentor. What better way is there to tap into your personal and professional potential than with a Jewish mentor at your side? Learn more at olami.org/mentorship. Don't forget to keep listening on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.