About
An entrepreneur notable for his accomplishments as a real estate investor and lender, Ivan Kaufman currently leads the New York-based Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE: ABR). With more than three decades in real estate financing experience, Mr. Kaufman earned degrees from Boston University and Hofstra School of Law before founding Arbor National Holdings and its lending subsidiary, Arbor National Mortgage, in 1983. Over the next several years, Mr. Kaufman turned Arbor National Mortgage into one of the top home loan originators in the greater New York area, expanding the company to 25 branches and taking the company public in 1992 on the New York Stock Exchange. As a testament to his leadership during this period, Mr. Kaufman was named one of Inc.’s Entrepreneurs of the Year in 1990.
Following the 1995 sale of Arbor National Mortgage to Bank of America, Mr. Kaufman retained ownership of the Arbor name as well as the commercial arm of the business, which became Arbor Commercial Mortgage, a national direct multifamily lender. As Arbor continued to grow, Mr. Kaufman formed the platform for Arbor Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust that went public in 2004 and eventually purchased Arbor Commercial Mortgage’s agency platform.
In 2012, Mr. Kaufman launched an acquisition and investment firm called Arbor Management Acquisition Company ( AMAC), and in 2016, he launched ArborCrowd, an online real estate crowdfunding business that offers accredited investors the opportunity to make equity investments in individual properties.
Widely recognized for his expertise in the commercial and residential mortgage sectors, Mr. Kaufman has lectured on these topics at the Wharton School, Harvard Business School and Columbia University. Active in environmental and educational causes as well, Mr. Kaufman previously volunteered with Global ReLeaf and the International Arid Lands Consortium, founded North Shore Hebrew Academy High School and serves as a trustee of the Birthright Israel Foundation. He also spent time as chair of New York State’s Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the 10th Judicial District.
Ivan Kaufman Online: