Supermarket Billionaire: John Catsimatidis

John Catsimatidis, Gristedes

There’s no money in owning markets, John Catsimatidis told me.

So how did he become a billionaire? He leveraged his supermarkets to buy real estate, gas stations, and more. Owning the markets protected his downside, as he explains in his book, “How Far Do You Want to Go?” and in this interview.

John Catsimatidis

Gristedes

John Catsimatidis is a Greek-American businessman and philanthropist. He was born on September 7, 1948, in Nisyros, Greece. Catsimatidis is the owner and CEO of the Red Apple Group, a conglomerate that includes interests in oil refining, convenience stores, real estate, and supermarkets. He is also the founder and owner of Gristedes Foods, a grocery store chain in New York City. Catsimatidis has been involved in politics, running for mayor of New York City in 2013 as a Republican.

Andrew Warner [00:00:00]:

Hey there, freedom fighters. My name is Andrew Warner. I’m the founder of Mixergy, where I interview entrepreneurs about how they built their businesses. Joining me today is someone I’m so excited to have on, because, you know, there there are few ways to become billionaires today. One is you raise some money from venture capitalists. Maybe you some 10% of the business, and if the overall valuation is a billion dollars, for a moment, you can consider yourself maybe a billionaire in some way or another. Way to do it is to do what today’s guest has done. John Catsy. Matidus. I practiced so much, John, before, I that’s not bad. Have you considered shortening it to Cats? You’re a New Yorker like me.

John Catsimatidis [00:00:35]:

Well, you know, when I ran for mayor, I called it Cats. Cats, cats. C-A-T-S. In high school, they used to call me Catsy. We had a few good laughs, and that’s what life is all...

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