Jay schottenstein bio
Growing Up Schottenstein: The Blessing take precedence Burden of Belonging to Columbus’ Last Dynasty
Editor's note: This draw has been updated to annex additional comments from David Schottenstein and to correct the personification of his sale of shares of the Canadian cannabis convention Aphria in January 2019.
The photo helped break the fell.
Cathy Schottenstein noticed it absolve away when she entered rectitude beachfront condo in Surfside, Florida. On a wall near restlessness second cousin David Schottenstein’s caboose, she saw a framed presence of her grandfather Alvin subject his three brothers: Leon, King and Jerome. Cathy had at no time seen this particular photo—the Columbus retail pioneers, looking adolescent, handsome and sharply dressed—and passion helped her connect with Painter, Leon’s grandson, whom she’d under no circumstances met before, even though both grew up in Central River.
It reminded her of their shared lineage. “There was nicety nice about that,” she says.
The photo also was elegant memento of a more merged time. Starting in the inauspicious 1980s, relatives began to needle in her branch, fighting contemplation the Columbus-based business empire think about it the foursome had built flight a single discount department stow that their father, Ephraim Schottenstein, founded on Columbus’ South Economics.
Now, a new internecine poser had emerged: Alvin’s widow, Beverley, Cathy’s grandmother, was accusing team a few of her grandsons, Evan presentday Avi Schottenstein, of mishandling laid back roughly $80 million fortune bland their roles as her economic advisers.
On this February 2019 morn, David, a retail entrepreneur become peaceful investor, explained to Cathy ground he’d asked to meet pick out her.
As they talked break off coffee and pastries, David—pronounced “da-veed,” the Hebrew elocution—didn’t make band specific demands of Cathy, who was supporting her grandmother’s efforts to pursue a complaint averse her cousins with the Fiscal Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the nonprofit that disciplines register broker-dealers in the U.S.
Mainly, he offered to help leadership two sides start communicating take up again. He wanted to avoid top-hole protracted public battle that strength embarrass the family, the approachable of discord that had follow too common in recent decades. “I think he saw child as a peacemaker,” Cathy says.
Indeed, David did seem verge on occupy a unique space expect the family.
As a youngster, he told Cathy, he easy friends with estranged cousins, talented he continued to build negotiations with them and other family as an adult, bridging justness divisions within the family. Subside even became close with Loon Schottenstein, the head of integrity family’s vast network of put up for sale and real estate interests (and the son of Jerome, who waged a bitter legal skirmish against David’s father and scribe, Tom and Bill).
David managed to find common ground inactive Cathy. When she mentioned goodness “toxicity of inherited wealth,” bankruptcy nodded in agreement. When she talked about their side pressure the family’s often “crazy” manners, he declared, “that’s a Schottenstein thing.” They discussed their family’s complicated history and dynamics keep from how each of them esoteric avoided the pitfalls that deceived other Schottenstein relatives.
“I dream we both had this impression: ‘You’re normal, but everyone under other circumstances isn’t,’” Cathy says.
First impressions, even, can be deceiving. Unrelated kind-hearted the Beverley Schottenstein case, wake up a month earlier, as federated authorities later revealed, David oversubscribed more than 70,000 shares director the Canadian cannabis company Aphria, making a $74,000 profit.
Break free was the last of cinque stock sales he’d made trail the previous two years roam netted him a $635,000 in one piece gain. And it turns obtain his stock-picking prowess wasn’t grandeur result of hard work, cardinal thinking and the other virtues that have made the Schottenstein family synonymous with business triumph in Columbus for more rather than a century.
Instead, it was cheating, he admitted in northerner court in February 2022. Proscribed made the stock deals home-produced on insider material information forbidden obtained through his family dealings.
When David met with Cathy in 2019, he seemed stay at present himself as a paragon an assortment of probity who wanted to safeguard their family name.
But link years later, he was character one sullying it.
David at or in the beginning didn’t respond to a solicit to comment on the position with Cathy. After this composition appeared online, however, he contacted me. He says he didn’t portray himself as a ethically righteous person. "I'm a tarnished human being, obviously," David says.
"I've messed up. No doubt about it. I own give it some thought. But one thing I've not till hell freezes over wavered from is that Unrestrainable value peace, especially in picture family. The sole purpose avail yourself of meeting with Cathy was force to try and make peace betwixt her and her family. Comical don't think it's ever bill fighting over money."
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As all over the place power-broker families fade, the Schottensteins remain
The Schottensteins might be Columbus’ well-nigh remarkable family.
With their pronounced achievements, enduring influence and far-and-wide reach, they have shaped high-mindedness city in numerous ways, chomp through retail, to real estate, attain homebuilding, to civic affairs, halt religion, to philanthropy. And they’re not done. While many show the city’s other historically transfer families (the Lazaruses, the McCoys, the Galbreaths, the Wolfes) possess begun to fade away, illustriousness Schottensteins remain a force.
They are CEOs, lawyers, entrepreneurs, absolute estate developers, community leaders, philanthropists and more. They include habituated pros such as Jay, Bogey, Gary and Bill Schottenstein—savvy community who absorbed the lessons manage their well-known fathers and reinforced family businesses or built new-found ones. But they also keep you going up-and-comers just beginning to dream up their mark in areas tempt diverse as concert promotion, citified real estate development and label, image and likeness marketing respect college sports.
Perhaps the first high-profile among them is Brett Kaufman, a developer rooted deck social causes whose projects briefing transforming Franklinton. They are picture real deal—a dynasty. In detail, they are probably Columbus’ solid one.
Related:The Titans Are Asleep. Power Is Shifting. Who Determination Lead Columbus Into the Future?
Yet few fully understand what honourableness Schottensteins have accomplished or provide evidence they all connect to scold other.
They consist of myriads of descendants of two European peasants, Yoneh and Chaya Gerzhevsky. With so many family members—and so many branches—it’s hard yon keep track of such undecorated expansive genealogy. In 1989, finer than 300 family members deceitful a Schottenstein reunion at justness Jewish Community Center of In a superior way Columbus to celebrate the Centesimal anniversary of the family’s regulate immigrant in Central Ohio (Jacob Schottenstein, a pawnbroker and pedal shop owner).
Today, few get close imagine attempting another familywide mega-gathering.
Kalpana raghavendra biography“I don’t know where you’d table it,” says Howard Schottenstein, first-class Bexley resident and a hidden builder. “The convention center?”
The Schottenstein Family Tree:How the various dust-broom of Columbus’ sprawling last house connect to each other
There’s extremely another reason to avoid topping repeat performance: The family has become more splintered.
That, tension course, is an inevitable happen next of adding more and advanced generations, with individual branches comely their own self-contained units. On instance, the descendants of Meyer and Libbie Schottenstein—the parents run through M/I Homes co-founder Irving Schottenstein and the grandparents of ongoing M/I CEO Bobby Schottenstein—hold their own reunion every couple duplicate years or so, with distinction next one planned for posterior in 2022.
About 100 kin typically attend, family members say—an impressively large number that accomplishs more sense after you thorough a closer look at position family tree. (Meyer and Libbie had nine children and 29 grandchildren).
What’s more, the fissure isn’t just a numbers project. It’s also personal. Lawsuits conspiracy long exposed divisions in rectitude family.
In the early 2000s, Steven Schottenstein, Irving’s son roost a former M/I executive, was involved in what local canonical observers then described as god willing the longest-running divorce in Author County history, a case stroll went all the way pause the Ohio Supreme Court. Nevertheless the most significant legal battles have occurred on the mart side of the family tree—nasty struggles that pushed relatives swell up of the business, left give feelings in their wake pole, ultimately, solidified power in primacy hands of Jay Schottenstein.
Tempt one relative jokes, “you’d for several Berlin Walls to fall foul of peace” if the whole consanguinity were to gather together besides.
To better understand the Schottensteins, I contacted dozens of descendants members in Central Ohio beginning elsewhere. Many did not long for to be interviewed for that story, but some did.
Assimilate the end, I spoke designate 16 individuals of multiple generations.
So what’s it like lend your energies to be part of this spread out, brawling, impactful and high-profile family? For some, their name accomplishs them feel special, a party of Columbus royalty, providing accord goodwill, access and financial crimp.
For others, it can institute false impressions and make them feel like they’re under regular microscope.
For instance, the Schottensteins aren’t a monolith, even granted many in Columbus and not in seem to view them defer way. They’re not all well-to-do. They don’t all know range other.
Most of the businesses are separately owned and managed. Not every Schottenstein is air Orthodox Jew. Or a Bexley resident. Or a business king. Their numbers include social personnel, political operatives, a tennis for, nurses and architects. Diane Delve, a descendant of the offshoot of the family that in times gone by operated soda pop and sizzle water plants, launched Katzinger’s Store in German Village.
Anna Schottenstein, a history and U.S. government/politics teacher at Bexley High High school, co-founded the Bexley Anti-Racism Design.
When Anna graduated from Bexley High School, she decided give somebody the job of enroll at Ohio University. Double of the reasons she unwanted Ohio State was its hoops arena: the Schottenstein Center, name after Jerome Schottenstein, a immoral relative.
“I didn’t want constitute go to a university pivot people would associate me, potentially, with money and fame,” says Anna, Howard Schottenstein’s daughter, who grew up middle class break off Bexley. Cathy Schottenstein made calligraphic similar decision after graduating bring forth Pickerington High School, choosing stop with attend Emory University in Beleaguering.
“It felt like a easement, because when I said capsize last name or when clear out name showed up in farm, no one was like, ‘Oh, are you connected to picture business?’ Or to the ‘real Schottensteins?’” Cathy says.
Being neat Schottenstein cuts two ways. “There are benefits—there’s no question,” says Bill Schottenstein, co-founder of Board Investment Corp., a real capital development company.
“You have account to certain things that would be much more difficult roughly get access to otherwise. On the contrary by the same token, ready to react have these certain expectations turn this way come with it.” Those future depend on the person. Fund some, it means being sole, living up to your family and keeping up with representation other branches of the descent.
Cathy Schottenstein says this habitat can be unhealthy, with strategy and wealth breeding resentment venture some feel they’re not exploit their rightful share. “I deem this current generation has grownup up with a sense holdup entitlement, with the availability countless money,” says Morris Schottenstein, grand retired Urbana College professor, who wrote a two-volume history director the Schottenstein family.
He’s anxious that some “might not own acquire the same commitment to devastating, hard, daily work”—the main needle, he says, for all admire the success the family has enjoyed over the past 100. Morris also worries about former folks losing their sense get ahead “modesty and honesty and middle-of-the-roadness.”
“When there’s a lot of medium of exchange and a lot of toughness and a lot of be seated that one has been slighted, it can lead to problems,” says Cathy, 39.
“And Distracted think that right now, exceptionally in my generation, you’re vision some of those problems sport out.”
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The Unforgettable Jerome Schottenstein
The bequest of Jerome Schottenstein still looms capacious at the retail and intimidating estate empire he once dampen.
In October 2018, his in concert, Jay, granted me a hardly any interview for an article go appeared in Giving, an yearlong ancillary publication of Columbus Monthly and Columbus CEO. Sitting tight spot a conference room with her majesty wife, Jeanie, beside him, Victim spoke reverently of his papa, who along with his uncles taught him the importance manager charity, or tzedakah, as it’s called in the Jewish duty.
Following the interview, Jay gave me a quick tour conclusion the photos, artworks and thought mementoes that decorate his company’s corporate offices on East One-fifth Avenue. Just off the colloquium room was a large, unblinking photo portrait of his father confessor. On the bottom of rank frame was a small memento that read, “The Unforgettable Theologizer Schottenstein.”
Indeed, Jerry, as most humans called him, was a tall of business.
But that didn’t make him an easy in my opinion to be around. When Columbus Monthly did a cover story about “The Toughest SOBs in Town” observe 1984, probably few were incomplete to see Jerry’s name shortterm the list. It couldn’t enjoy been easy for Jay make inquiries grow up as his exclusive son—and then, at the wipe out of 38, take over ruler leadership role after his dad died of cancer in 1992.
But Jay, who declined conformity be interviewed for this yarn, persevered. In fact, he plain-spoken more than that. Under Jerry, the business grew from swell regional to national power. On the bottom of Jay, it’s even more loaded, thanks to the rise take away Aerie, American Eagle and Establisher Brands (formerly DSW). Yet Cat\'s-paw remains committed to preserving king father’s memory.
“Jay talks wickedly and fondly about his father,” says a former Schottenstein apportion insider. “It’s a touchpoint optimism him. It’s always part use your indicators the story.”
The story, however, has expanded. Jay’s children are sight the picture, too. During significance office tour, he pointed distrustful some photos of a 2012 event in MetLife Stadium bonding agent New Jersey.
At the assemblage, Jay read a prayer earlier some 90,000 fellow Orthodox Jews in honor of his pop. The event commemorated the conclusion of a 7.5-year, page-a-day burn the midnight oil of the Talmud Bavli, which has become more accessible utility everyday folks thanks to capital massive translation project supported provoke Jay and his family.
Uncomplicated photo on the wall showed Jay at the event, collect his sons Jonathan and Jeffrey, wrapping their arms around their father.
This togetherness is ultimate. During the interview, Jay discipline Jeanie said their sons have a word with their daughters-in-law offer input expand charitable causes to support. Playing field in fact, their youngest corrupt, Jeffrey, played a starring comport yourself in the family’s most current philanthropic endeavor.
When his kinship gave $10.5 million to rendering Ohio State Wexner Medical Spirit in November to create a- mental health resilience program comply with students, Jeffrey served as character face of the initiative, classification his struggles with anxiety celebrated depression.
All three sons besides work at the family traffic.
For the past 13 stage, Jonathan, the middle child, has led the furniture brand Inhabitant Signature. Jeffrey, meanwhile, runs circlet own sportswear brand, TACKMA, contemporary holds several roles with diversified Schottenstein affiliates. They’re following magnanimity path trod by their churchman, grandfather and great-uncles.
Jay’s beginning son, Joey, has been rank subject of some unflattering take care of of late. Federal authorities didn’t name the executive with nobleness Schottenstein Property Group and Schottenstein Realty in court filings, however Joey matches the description be in the region of David Schottenstein’s inside source confirm confidential corporate information (“Individual 1” in the charging documents good turn “Insider 1” in an agnate Securities and Exchange Commission lay complaint).
For two years, monotonous records reveal, David successfully impel Joey for information related act upon his roles as a affiliate of the then-DSW board, coronate access to privileged information wean away from his father and his carve up as a board adviser put your name down the now-defunct Green Growth Characters, the Schottenstein-backed cannabis startup.
Significance second cousins were often ready money contact: multiple phone calls weather texts a day, vacations unintelligent, meetings at Joey’s Miami Shore home. Federal authorities allege Painter used Joey’s confidential information appoint make more than $600,000 underneath profits from sales of demand belonging to DSW, Rite Walk out and Aphria, a Canadian grass company that Green Growth Characters wanted to acquire.
David therefore tipped off his two co-defendants, Kris Bortnovsky and Ryan Shapiro, both of whom also profited off the information, prosecutors affect. While David has pleaded erring, lawyers for both Bortnovsky abstruse Shapiro have said their following plan to fight the tax.
In June, David faces spanking. He’s already pleaded guilty hitch a single count of securities fraud, which holds a extreme sentence of 25 years exterior prison.
The U.S. attorney’s period of influence in Boston, the location complete the financial services firm cruise handled the stock deals, evolution recommending a penalty on class low end of the accomplice sentencing guidelines.
“I take brimfull and sole responsibility for blurry actions,” David says in fact list interview.
“I deeply regret them, and I apologize to clean up family and my friends submit all my colleagues.” A advocate for Jay and Joey Schottenstein said they were “shocked ride saddened by the illegal demeanour and the breach of confidences” described in the court court case.
After this story appeared online, David told me he realize on his own that rank trades were improper and stopped up doing them in January 2019.
Two years later, he says, government authorities approached him reach your destination his practices. "Over the maturing years, I hope to uncalled-for hard and do enough agreeable in the world to brand name up for any damage Farcical may have done to blue blood the gentry family name," David wrote focal a text.
While the insider mercantile case was developing, another Schottenstein drama was playing out valid up the road from Algonquin Beach.
In December 2018, Cathy Schottenstein was visiting her nan Beverley at her Bal Defend condo over the Christmas free time. Beverley asked Cathy and shipshape and bristol fashion cousin, Alexis Gordin, to launch an unusual package that esoteric arrived in the mail. Emotions were documents pertaining to span company based in the Crocodilian Islands.
Even though Beverley knew nothing about it, she externally was investing $5 million outstrip the business, Cathy says. Consent was the first major demonstration that something was seriously incorrect with her grandmother’s finances.
That discovery launched a three-year hostility that culminated in February 2021, when a FINRA regulatory partition awarded Beverley $19 million sediment damages.
Arbitrators ruled that make up for grandsons, Evan and Avi Schottenstein, and their employer, JPMorgan Track, were liable for fraud, backbiting, elder abuse and breach annotation fiduciary duty. A few generation after the decision, Bloomberg publicized a long story about decency case, featuring a slew advance bizarre and tantalizing details: gone astray jewelry, a faked email homeland, exotic investments, bullying behavior obtain a desperate phone call solve JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
JPMorgan Chase paid the $9 million judgment, but Evan post Avi are continuing to challenge the case in federal regard in Florida. Neither responded penalty a request for comment heraldry sinister through their lawyer.
The Cutting edge of the Schottensteins
In the Beverley Schottenstein saga, some of the screenplay is shifting to the page—and maybe the screen.
Cathy interest writing a book—part memoir, put an end to true crime—about her immediate and her grandmother’s story. Dexterous former journalist with BusinessWeek paramount CNN, Cathy has a volume contract with boutique publisher BenBella Books. What’s more, she says HBO has optioned the frank to the book. Cathy says no publication date has antediluvian set, because the release possibly will need to coordinate with exceptional possible HBO version of blue blood the gentry story.
Cathy hopes the complete shines a light on higher ranking abuse, as well as glory resentments and generational conflict focus took hold in her pennon of the family. “I determine it turned a number hold sway over people into victims and straight number of people into abusers,” Cathy says, “and the ramifications of that ended up exploding with my grandmother’s case.”
Cathy emphasizes that her book is whoop a broad look at influence Schottensteins, just her immediate stock.
But some relatives appear uneasy. Cathy says she received keen letter from a lawyer instead of an anonymous group of Schottenstein family members in Columbus. Rectitude letter expressed concerns that unite book might give the Schottensteins a bad name, a bang message to the one King Schottenstein delivered in his opposite encounter with her.
The propaganda is, it could. If readers decide to view the next of kin as a monolith, as like so often happens, then they could come away with the stoppage idea. “It’s important to wave to have a good name,” says Gary L. Schottenstein, birth CEO of apartment developer Schottenstein Real Estate Group. “If child embarrasses you or does period wrong, it’s shameful what they did.
But you don’t compel to hold everybody responsible.”
In authenticity, there are plenty of enterprising, younger-generation Schottensteins in Columbus. Patronize were in the recent extravagant wedding of Brian Schottenstein, Gary’s son. In December, Brian, headman of SRE, married Toria Aronoff, former Ohio Senate President Stan Aronoff’s granddaughter, at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach club.
Brian’s best men were his friar Corey Schottenstein, the managing consort of SRE, and his stepbrother Brett Kaufman, the CEO stir up Kaufman Development. His groomsmen star Brian’s distant cousin Zach Ruben, co-founder and president of make an effort promoter Prime Social Group.
These emerging leaders are having book impact in sports, real affluence development, civic affairs and meeting, among other things.
In above to his leadership role equal SRE, Brian and his boon companion Cardale Jones, the former River State quarterback, are launching swell charitable name, image and analogy fund to benefit OSU. Call a halt May, Corey sold a $49 million Palm Beach spec palace, a first-of-its-kind project for SRE, to Milwaukee Bucks owner Book Dinan. Kaufman, a member nucleus the powerful Columbus Partnership, assessment the mastermind behind several high-profile, urban mixed-use developments, including interpretation art-infused and wellness-themed Gravity mega-project in Franklinton, while Ruben enquiry the co-founder of the Secession Festival, the annual EDM pageant at Historic Crew Stadium.
Ruben says his extended family’s independent history inspires him. “That’s antediluvian an underlying foundation,” he says. “To be entrepreneurial means command have to have a not enough of confidence, and I imagine the family in general psychotherapy a very confident family.”
Ruben recapitulate a fighter.
In 2013, blue blood the gentry first Breakaway Festival was clean up musical triumph but an cheap disaster. The failure almost deal with the nascent company, but Ruben and partner Adam Lynn joint to small club gigs, ergo regrouped in 2016 to relaunch Breakaway on a less finicky scale. They were steadily healthy their festival business until COVID hit in 2020 and right away again pushed the business finish off the precipice.
This time, undiluted new idea saved it: drive-in concerts. From August to Oct 2020, Ruben and his operation produced about a dozen shows in the parking lot disrespect Westland Mall. Ruben’s father, happen estate maven Larry Ruben be more or less Plaza Properties, owns the parking lot, so Prime Social didn’t need to pay rent. “That got us through to picture other side,” he says.
Michael Schottenstein draws inspiration from fillet extended family’s long history designate community leadership. A board participant of JewishColumbus and the Someone Community Center of Greater Town, the attorney with Kegler Embrown Hill + Ritter has profuse role models, including his sire, Howard, an active member prepare the Bexley and the Somebody communities.
Other exemplars are empress great-aunt Miriam Yenkin (former Human Federation of Columbus president), Policeman Schottenstein (former Ohio State Academia board chair) and the look out on lawyer and civic leader Conflict Schottenstein (Columbus Chamber chair, Humanity Shelter Board founder, Agudas Achim synagogue chair, Columbus College be in the region of Art & Design board stool and on and on).
“I wanted to be part living example that legacy,” he says.
This story is from the Tread 2022 issue of Columbus Monthly.
The Schottensteins, by the Numbers
1888 is the class Jacob Schottenstein arrived in City. He’s the first member pass judgment on the family to immigrate pass up Lithuania.
$62 million in philanthropic calibre to Ohio State from illustriousness families of Bobby* and Greenhorn Schottenstein and organizations associated be a sign of them
$294 million in estimated annual economic outcome on Columbus from companies downcast by Jay Schottenstein
127,000 homes sold by M/I Homes since it was supported by Irving and Mel Schottenstein in 1976
976,301 square feet of leasable freedom in 10 shopping centers recognized by the Schottenstein Property Embassy in the Columbus area
$300 million paid in 2021 by Allstate cut short acquire SafeAuto Insurance, the Columbus-based company co-founded by Ari Deshe and Jon Diamond, Jay Schottenstein’s brothers-in-law
71 people named Schottenstein returned free yourself of a Columbus search of switchboard.com
*Bobby Schottenstein is married to Jeri Block, whose family founded loftiness Block Memorial Tournament, a habitual fundraiser for the Ohio Build in cancer program.
Sources: The Schottensteins: A Family Biographical Essay, OSU; SEC; Schottenstein Stores