Greek-American tycoon John Catsimatidis may run for NY mayor again

NEW YORK – Greek-American billionaire John Catsimatidis is ramping up his team ahead of another possible run for mayor next year. The business mogul was spotted meeting with strategists and potential advisers, including longtime Gov. George Pataki adviser Rob Cole, over lunch at Empire Steak House on Tuesday, New York Post reports.

Catsimatidis ran for Mayor in 2013, using $10 million of his own fortune, but lost to former Metropolitan Transit Authority chief Joe Lhota in the primary. “I have one more race left in me,” he told The New York Post in November.

On Tuesday, Catsimatidis told the Post, “We have been meeting with people for the last 15 or 20 days about possibly including them in the campaign if we do run.”

Catsimatidis is chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group, which is among the country’s largest privately held companies with 8,000 employees and estimated annual revenues of $4.3 billion. Red Apple has holdings in oil refining, retail petroleum products, convenience stores, supermarkets and real estate. With a major focus on energy, Catsimatidis’ fortune accelerated with rising oil prices.

At a personal fortune estimated at $3.4 billion, John Catsimatidis remains very close to the top TNH’s 50 Wealthiest Greek-Americans 2017 List, and continues to be in the public eye, particularly as he considers another possible campaign for public office.

Settling into a humble Harlem tenement as an infant with his parents from the tiny Greek island of Nisyros, Catsimatidis, through decades of hard work and innovation, is a self-made billionaire.

Read more here.

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