J. “Tom” Barrack Jr. (born 1947/1948) Lebanese – American. He is the grandson of the Lebanese immigrant Joseph Barrack, Christian Catholic, who left his hometown “Zahle – Lebanon” towards the end of the 19th century, for a new life in the U.S.A. His father “Thomas Barrack” ran a grocery store, and his mother was a secretary.
Tom Barrack is an American private equity real estate investor and the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Colony Capital, headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Early Life
Tom Barrack graduated with a BA in 1969 from the University of Southern California where he was a star on their national championship Rugby Team. Attended USC and University of San Diego receiving a JD in 1972 and he was an editor of the Law Review.
Career
His first job was at the law firm of Herbert W. Kalmbach, President Richard Nixon’s personal lawyer. He then worked in Saudi Arabia for the Fluor Corporation. He then learned Arabic and worked for Saudi princes. Shortly after, he helped open diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Haiti, then ruled by Jean-Claude Duvalier, at the request of investor Lonnie Dunn.
Barrack served as Deputy Undersecretary of the United States Department of the Interior under James G. Watt in the Reagan administration.
Barrack was later a principal with the Robert M. Bass Group. In 1990, he founded Colony Capital, and received initial investment from Bass and GE Capital, and later from Eli Broad, Merrill Lynch, and Koo Chen-fu. He has invested some $200 million in Middle East real estate, $534 million in non-performing German real estate loans, and a $24 million loan to photographer Annie Leibovitz. He also owns the Neverland Ranch. Through Colony Capital, he runs a $25 billion portfolio of assets, from the Fairmont Raffles Hotels International hotel chain in Asia, the Aga Khan’s former resort in Sardinia, Resorts International Holdings, One &Only Resorts, Atlantis, etc.
Barrack is a Trustee at the University of Southern California. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Accor, Kerner, First Republic Bank, Continental Airlines, Korea First Bank, and Megaworld Properties & Holdings. Additionally, French president Nicolas Sarkozy awarded him France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.
As of September 2011, Barrack was the 833rd richest person in the world, and the 375th richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$1.1. billion. However, he was no longer a billionaire in 2014.
Political Activity
Barrack endorsed Donald Trump for President of the United States in 2016.He is a major fundraiser for Trump’s campaign through the “Rebuilding America Now” Super PAC. He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He was also rumored to be considered for Treasury Secretary in the Trump administration.
Personal Life
Barrack is married, and he has four children. They reside in Los Angeles, California. He also owns a 1,200-acre mountain ranch near Santa Barbara, California. He spends summers in a castle in the South of France. He works out daily and often surfs and plays polo around the world.
In 2016 Barrack visited three refugee camps in Lebanon, one of them in Zahle, his hometown.