August Feature: John Catsimatidis-NYC Mayoral Candidate
He was born on the island of Nisyros, a Turkish invaded, Italian occupied and, subsequently, Greek owned Island where his family lived until he was six months of age. His father was a lighthouse operator in Greece. The family relocated to West 135th Street, NYC, where he grew up and learned the value of hard work watching his father bus tables in Manhattan.
He waited tables in NYC, and worked at Sloan's Supermarkets, where he became a master student of the supermarket business, Eventually he attended New York University to study engineering but he never graduated. In 1971 he opened his first NYC Supermarket at Broadway and 99th called Red Apple. This was the start of the opening of almost 50 Gristedes and Big Apple Food Stores, making John Catsimatidis the largest supermarket owner in NYC.
He has since diversified into oil refining, real estate holdings, and publishing, bringing his personal net worth to over $3 billion dollars and making him one of Forbes Magazines' 500 most billionaires in the world.
Catsimatidis has played a major role in local and national politics on both sides of the aisle. He stands up for what he believes is right, regardless of partisan affiliations. He has befriended the Clintons on the left and been a major supporter of Mayor Bloomberg on the right, among other political powerhouses he is associated with. He is currently seen as the front runner of the Republican NYC Mayoral Candidates for the 2013 NYC mayor's race, having announced his official candidacy in January 2013. His ascension to billionaire status from poverty is truly the story of a "self made man".
John Catsimatidis is a quintessential Greek in the Diaspora. His family emigrated to the United States with nothing in hopes of making more of their lives. He has climbed his way up the economic and political ladder through hard work and by "feeling the pulse of the people". He is a businessman, philanthropist, political force and Hellenic Icon. John Catsimatidis is known for his generosity, his values, and his support of the issues he believes in. For many Greek-Americans, John Catsimatidis is synonymous with the fulfillment of the American Dream. His life's accomplishments are held out, like one of those lighthouses his father worked in, as a beacon of hope for Greeks everywhere in the world. Win or lose the 2013 NYC Mayoral Race, John Catsimatidis has left an indelible mark on NYC and National affairs.
He has since diversified into oil refining, real estate holdings, and publishing, bringing his personal net worth to over $3 billion dollars and making him one of Forbes Magazines' 500 most billionaires in the world.
Catsimatidis has played a major role in local and national politics on both sides of the aisle. He stands up for what he believes is right, regardless of partisan affiliations. He has befriended the Clintons on the left and been a major supporter of Mayor Bloomberg on the right, among other political powerhouses he is associated with. He is currently seen as the front runner of the Republican NYC Mayoral Candidates for the 2013 NYC mayor's race, having announced his official candidacy in January 2013. His ascension to billionaire status from poverty is truly the story of a "self made man".
John Catsimatidis is a quintessential Greek in the Diaspora. His family emigrated to the United States with nothing in hopes of making more of their lives. He has climbed his way up the economic and political ladder through hard work and by "feeling the pulse of the people". He is a businessman, philanthropist, political force and Hellenic Icon. John Catsimatidis is known for his generosity, his values, and his support of the issues he believes in. For many Greek-Americans, John Catsimatidis is synonymous with the fulfillment of the American Dream. His life's accomplishments are held out, like one of those lighthouses his father worked in, as a beacon of hope for Greeks everywhere in the world. Win or lose the 2013 NYC Mayoral Race, John Catsimatidis has left an indelible mark on NYC and National affairs.
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