Richard Hadar is a premier real estate investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. As founder of Richard Hadar Funding, LLC, Hadar is best known for his investments over the last two decades in such signature properties as the Citicorp Center, 1 East 57th Street (now the LVMH building), Studio 54, and most recently, 915 Broadway.

Hadar was born in 1939 and lived in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. At age eight, his family moved to rural Pennsylvania where young Richard worked for his father delivering produce, while hauling topsoil from the woods to sell to gardeners.

Hadar attended Pennsylvania State University, where he studied business with a focus on real estate. To fund his studies, he continued working while in school and joined the ROTC. He graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor’s in Science degree.

Following two years of military service in Europe, Hadar returned to the U.S. and began working as a salesman for Scott Paper. He soon left to find a more entrepreneurial opportunity, founding and managing two multi-million dollar mail-order businesses in quick succession. Both companies were widely recognized in the industry for their efficiency and innovative marketing strategies.

By the time Hadar sold his mail order business it was ranked as one of the top 12 most profitable mail-order businesses in the country. Using the proceeds from the sale, Hadar invested in New York real estate, making numerous notable acquisitions in the 1990’s while overseeing major renovations on several buildings.

Hadar co-founded Allied Partners, a real estate development and management company, in 1993. As the owner of Allied he served as Chairman and provided financial backing for the overhead, property acquisitions, mezzanine and bridge loans between 1993 and 2003. Hadar currently invests in properties through his firm, Richard Hadar Funding, LLC.

Remembering his own struggles to afford higher education, Hadar began a foundation in 1993 to provide students of promise, but limited means, with college scholarships. Since then, The Richard and Mica Hadar Foundation has put more than 250 “Hadar Scholars” through school while providing each student with mentoring and workshops from regarded professionals, as well as a lifelong network of support. With a graduation rate of 95 percent, Hadar Scholars go on to become successful professionals, being awarded numerous honors for their work. Together with Mica Hadar, Hadar oversees the mentoring program while developing collaborations with New York City schools and organizations.