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By: Benyamin Davidsons
The late Sheldon Solow, who passed away during the pandemic in 2020 at age 92, left behind a real estate empire worth billions, which included New York City icons including the office tower at 9 W. 57th St., several luxury apartment buildings on the Upper East Side and close to seven acres of vacant land south of the United Nations building.
Per a recent article in the NY Post, his son, Stefan Soloviev, 48, was put in charge of the tremendous estate, as well as the responsibility for the heavy duty estate taxes. Soloviev, who changed his last name to follow his bricklayer grandfather, had moved away from Manhattan and moved to Arizona when he got married. There he built a large family and forged his own empire, becoming one of the largest landowners in the country— boasting 700,000 acres and numerous businesses around the United States. He told the Post that he never had trust funds and had to earn pocket money even as a teenager. Despite his success, he remains an enigma, especially in Manhattan real estate.
The Post got a rare personal interview with Soloviev, chairman of the rebranded Soloviev Group. Soloviev showed up with his 21-year-old son, Quintin, who reportedly goes everywhere with his father, as his right hand and advisor. Quintin is next in line to run the company. “He’s obviously not there yet,” Soloviev said. “But I do believe he has the ability to take this all over from me one day.” The expansive primary businesses include Crossroads Agriculture, Quintin City Ranch and Weskan Grain, which have operations in western Kansas, eastern Colorado and New Mexico, growing grains and raising beef.
They handle bulk grain transfers and storage, with two railroad spurs to facilitate moving the grain to mills and ports. There’s a metal mine in Nevada, a wine brand named after his daughter Krissie, an under-development hydroponic facility in Canada, upstate orange groves in Florida, and retail stores in Delray Beach, FL. “Ask anyone around the plains, from Wyoming to New Mexico, everyone’s heard of me,” Soloviev said.
Their Twelve Bridges construction company has plans to eventually build upscale homes on their 1,000 acres owned in the North Fork of Long Island, as well as a boutique hotel, a marina, wineries, a peach orchard, a Christmas tree farm and nurseries.
Despite his multiple dealings across the country, Soloviev says he is still focused on his family’s Manhattan holdings. When he first inherited the Manhattan estate, Soloviev was forced to sell all but one of his father’s luxury rental properties to pay the estate taxes, because there was no estate planning working into the trust. Now, though, things are moving forward smoothly. Per the Post, his office building at 9 West, overlooking Central Park, has reached nearly 100% occupancy. He is pouring $45 million into the trophy tower to add new amenities. He also opened the family foundation’s art museum to the public in the tower’s ground floor, as of May.
Plans for the mixed-use construction include affordable housing, two hotel brands, 4.7 acres of public park, and a “Freedom Museum”.
“I will continue to back up everything I say, and I will continue to thrive as a person and as a company,” Soloviev said.
