Early Career
Like many real estate investors, Lichtenstein launched his real estate career with one building and a loan. And he bought that debut investment in a two-family home in New Jersey with a $12,000 down payment raised by maxing out a credit card and tapping out a small savings account. Over the next couple of years, Lichtenstein used the cash his properties generated, leveraged with loans, to keep buying. Three years later, in 1988, he founded The Lightstone Group, quickly growing the company into one of the biggest private property holders in the U.S. By 2003, Lightstone was recognized as one of the most active property buyers in the U.S., with an estimated worth of $1 billion to $2 billion. By 2005, that worth had grown to an estimated $3 billion.
Today, Lightstone ranks among the top 25 largest real estate companies in the United States, and employs approximately 1,150 staff and professionals. Lightstone has offices in New York City, as well as in New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois.
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