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About this episode

In this episode of 9×90™, Adi Soozin Managing Partner of Heritage Real Estate Fund™ interviews Edward Mermelstein. Edward’s experience includes 25+ years of real estate experience and $4 Billion in transaction volume. He has been named a certified Triple Threat & one of NYC’s “10 most influential figures in real estate,” In this episode Adi uses a specific list of questions to guide us through the key parts of Edward’s extensive professional history that equip him to be a leading decision maker at one of the most eagerly anticipated multi-generationally run CRE funds of the decade. By the end of this episode it’ll be clear to you why the Heritage Real Estate Fund’s winning team has their first two funds already oversubscribed. In this episode they explore how decades of high-stakes negotiations, philanthropic initiatives, and city-to-city partnerships shaped his investment philosophy and opened doors to unparalleled opportunities in real estate and global economic development. Edward also shares why Heritage Real Estate Fund is uniquely positioned to capture long-term growth in select cities around the world — from New York to Ukraine — as the fund’s investments define the next era of wealth creation. This is a rare conversation about vision, resilience, and the strategies driving the world’s most influential markets.

About this guest

For those of you who do not know Edward Mermelstein he:

1. Global Diplomatic Architect: Served as New York City’s Commissioner for International Affairs from 2022 to 2025, acting as the city’s primary liaison to the United Nations and the world’s largest diplomatic corps. During his tenure, he facilitated numerous city-to-city agreements that diversified NYC’s economy into technology, life sciences, and AI, ultimately resulting in the city hosting more tech jobs than finance jobs for the first time.
2. International Investment Authority: Leveraging over 30 years of experience as a legal strategist and founder of One & Only Holdings, he has facilitated billions of dollars in foreign direct investment and managed complex cross-border transactions across North America, Europe, and Asia. He is recognized as one of the “10 Most Influential Figures in NYC Real Estate” for his work advising family offices and sovereign wealth funds on high-stakes acquisitions.
3. Strategic Emerging Markets Leader: Currently serves as the Chairman of the Ukrainian Resilience & Opportunity Fund, a targeted initiative designed to accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery. A refugee from Ukraine himself, he bridges the gap between capital and diplomacy to mobilize private investment into high-growth, strategically vital opportunities within emerging markets.
4. Best Selling Author: he contributed to the best selling marketing book Tools of Marketing Titans which hit #2 best seller in the United States less than 21 days after it was published.

Connect with this guest

1. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edwardmermelstein
2. Instagram: @edward_mermelstein
3. X (Twitter): @EMermelstein
4. Facebook: facebook.com/edward.mermelstein
5. Official Website: www.Edward-Mermelstein.com

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Show Notes Generated by Gemini

These show notes were generated by AI

• Introduction of Edward Mermelstein Adi Soozin introduced Edward Mermelstein as her older brother and a highly accomplished individual with a distinguished career in international affairs, real estate, and philanthropy. Edward Mermelstein previously served as the commissioner of international affairs for the New York City mayor’s office, from January 5th, 2022, until July 2025, and is recognized as an influential figure in New York’s real estate sector, a best-selling author, and an award-winning mentor in the international family office arena (00:00:00). They also highlighted their philanthropic endeavors, including establishing the Mermelstein family scholarship at NYU and playing a key role in facilitating the 2008 return of the Denilov bells to the Russian Orthodox Church (00:01:16).
• Early Life and Influences Edward Mermelstein shared their early experiences as a refugee, having immigrated from Ukraine to the US in 1976 (00:02:42). They recounted their first memory of receiving a banana in Vienna, emphasizing how such simple experiences shape refugees and lead them to appreciate things that many in New York City, by contrast, often take for granted due to a comfortable lifestyle (00:03:58).
• Re-establishing New York City’s Global Position Edward Mermelstein discussed their efforts, alongside Mayor Adams, to restore New York City as a leading global hub for finance, technology, life sciences, and international collaboration (00:01:16) (00:06:50). They explained that after the pandemic, their strategy involved building strong relationships with the diplomatic community, including 116 consulates general and 193 missions, to encourage business delegations to prioritize New York City as a destination for their ventures (00:08:06).
• Real Estate Growth and Urban Redevelopment Edward Mermelstein elaborated on the growth opportunities in New York City real estate, noting that the market has historically performed well and is considered one of the safest asset classes (00:12:53). They discussed how areas like Soho and parts of northern Brooklyn have experienced significant growth, influencing development in other cities across the country, such as Miami and Detroit, through strategies like inviting artists into depressed neighborhoods to spur revitalization (00:14:15).
• City-to-City Agreements and Technology Sector Growth Edward Mermelstein highlighted the administration’s successful city-to-city agreements, such as those with Ho Chi Minh City and Israel’s economic ministry, aimed at driving business to New York City and exchanging best practices (00:17:25). They shared a significant achievement: 75% of Israeli startups now choose New York City over Silicon Valley, demonstrating the city’s business-friendly environment, access to capital, and growing technology job market (00:19:05).
• Personal Philosophy and Professional Success Edward Mermelstein attributed their success in international real estate and their career to hard work and their upbringing. They explained how speaking Russian and coming from a different culture opened doors for them, particularly in working with emerging markets during the collapse of the Soviet Union, allowing them to establish themselves as an expert in that region (00:22:09).
• Refugee Experience and Perspective on Hardship Edward Mermelstein reflected on their unique childhood experience of attending first grade three times in different countries—Israel, Germany, and the United States—which involved learning multiple languages and alphabets (00:24:50). They emphasized how their parents’ hard work and their own experiences with hardship in other countries make it difficult for them to empathize with complaints about difficulties in the United States, which they consider the best country in the world despite its problems (00:27:13).
• Importance of Philanthropy and Giving Back Edward Mermelstein expressed that their most rewarding work is in the nonprofit sector, helping those who cannot help themselves both domestically and internationally (00:28:22). They shared a lesson learned from their rabbi: “give until it hurts,” explaining that giving back ultimately brings more in return, whether through unexpected opportunities or a profound sense of satisfaction (00:29:53).
• Investment Opportunities in Ukraine Edward Mermelstein identified Ukraine as a “once in a generation opportunity” for investment, drawing parallels to their work in rebuilding New York City’s economy (00:32:14). They cited Ukraine’s extraordinary talent, top-notch education, rich soil, strategic minerals, and advanced military technology as factors positioning it for success, especially with potential US partnerships (00:36:27). They also stressed the importance of improving corporate governance and the rule of law to attract significant US investment (00:35:00) (00:40:31).
• Concerns about US Politics and Economy Edward Mermelstein expressed concern about the current state of US politics, noting the country’s division and the differing mindsets between urban and rural areas (00:42:44). They voiced strong apprehension about candidates lacking experience running large economies, such as New York City’s, highlighting the risks of poor leadership leading to economic decline and reduced quality of life, drawing a parallel to Detroit’s past decline (00:44:14).
• Consequences of Economic Collapse Edward Mermelstein warned about the severe global repercussions of an economic collapse in New York City, likening it to the 2008-2009 financial crisis which led to widespread suffering and suicides (00:49:10) (00:51:12). Adi Soozin added that a New York City economic crash would trigger a ripple effect across the US and globally, emphasizing that people often forget the fragility of economies (00:50:12).

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Transcript

This transcription was generated by Gemini & edited by ChatGPT

00:00:00

 
Adi Soozin: Hello everyone and welcome to a very special episode of 9×90. Today we have a very very very special guest with us. My amazing older brother who has achieved so many things. His intro is going to take me like five minutes. Um, for those of you who do not know Edward Mermstein, he is not only the coolest older brother on the planet, he is also the past commissioner of international affairs for the New York City mayor’s office. He’s held that position from January 5th, 2022 until July of 2025, leading the mayor’s office as New York City’s primary liaison to the diplomatic community, consular court, and thei United Nations under Mayor Eric Adams. He is also one of New York’s most influential figures in real estate. He has been described as a certified triple threat in the real estate world. And if that’s not cool enough, uh he is frequently featured on CNBC, Fox Business, Rutters, and in publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Forbes. He is also a best-selling author and award-winning mentor in the illustrious international family office arena.
 
 

00:01:16

 
Adi Soozin: He built and led successful ventures specializing in international real estate transactions, corporate law, and private equity. He has been selected by name to speak at international family office events with billions, sometimes trillions worth of decision-making power flying in from around the world. He was selected to be the chair of the board of adviserss for the Heritage Real Estate Fund. Their founding team has a combined track record of 440 years of experience and more than 20 billion in transaction volume. He is a very firm advocate reestablishing New York as the world’s preeminent hub for finance, tech, life sciences, and international collaboration. And on the philanthropic side, he has also done everything there is to do. He established the Merkelstein family scholarship at NYU. Served as chairman emeritus of KJCO aiding integration of Russianspeaking Jewish immigrants. Um he served as president of Zaka International Rescue and Recovery from 2018 to 2021. And he played a key role in facilitating the 2008 return of the Denilov bells to the Russian Orthodox Church. Uh, and if you’re wondering if he grew up just in the like epitome of perfection, he actually immigrated here from Ukraine to the US in 1976 as a refugee.
 
 

00:02:42

 
Adi Soozin: He attended Bronx Science High School, received a bachelor in psychology from NYU and a JD from Michigan, Western Michigan University. That’s a very, very long list of achievements. Is there anything you have not done yet that you still want to do?
Edward Mermelstein: Uh well, first of all, Adi, I think you made it under five minutes, so thank you. And uh thank you so much for having me on um on your podcast. Uh and it’s uh it’s probably um my second or third, so I I don’t do too many podcasts. Usually it’s uh television, but I I figure I got to get uh into the groove with uh all the young people of America and uh and start uh doing the things that everybody else is doing. So, thank you for getting me out of my shell.
Adi Soozin: Thank you for humoring the young people of America. So, you arrived to the US as a refugee from Ukraine 1976. How was that early experience? How has that influenced your worldview, especially in shaping your diplomatic approach as New York City’s prior commissioner of international affairs?
 
 

00:03:58

 
Edward Mermelstein: So, um yes, we we actually left in 1974 um what was then the Soviet Union. Um, my first uh memory outside of Ukraine was when we landed in uh in Vienna, Austria, and uh somebody gave us a banana, well, bananas to our family. That was the first time I had a banana. So, it was green and uh tasted like sawdust, but um but it was probably, you know, for for someone that’s never seen one, uh one of the most exciting things in the world. And these are the types of uh memories that uh shape I think refugees uh in general. um when when you experience something for the first time um and at that time I was already 7 years old but um the hardships um on one side and uh the very simple things that make uh people happy when they have nothing is is something that um I I try to uh relay to both my children and uh people around me especially those living in New York City. uh because um for lack of a better way to describe it uh we’re extremely spoiled in in New York.
 
 

00:05:19

 
Edward Mermelstein: So when people are complaining about the fact that uh the city is uh very expensive and doesn’t have housing uh most most people living in New York um many of them have been born outside of the United States. um we we have about 60% of uh people living in New York City have been born outside of the US or are children of people born outside of the United States. So when they um complain um it’s it’s because they’ve gotten used to the very good life, but most of the people that are complaining are people that never have been outside of New York City. Uh and when you travel and when you see the world outside of New York City, you understand that we live um in in a very very comfortable place. Um we have uh more food than anyone could ever want to imagine. Uh if especially when you’re living in emerging markets or um parts of the world that have very little food. So if you’re coming from whether it’s uh Africa, uh parts of Asia, South America, some very very poor uh parts of the world and um uh when when I hear complaints in New York, um you know, it’s it’s it’s hard for me to uh really get um comfortable with uh with people that have an issue about what I believe is the greatest city in the world.
 
 

00:06:50

 
Adi Soozin: I love when people are complaining about the US and I’m like, “Have you ever been to Cuba?” They’re like, “No.” Like, “You’ve ridden to Haiti?” They’re like, “No.” I’m like, “You ever been to any emerging country?” And they’re like, “No.” And I’m like, “Maybe you should go and then come back to the US.” But yeah.
Edward Mermelstein: Go.
Adi Soozin: So, you’re a major advoc advocate for moving large businesses back to New York City. As you pointed out in the family office international meeting a couple weeks ago, um New York City is the ninth largest economy on the planet. Do you want to just go into a little bit more of what you’ve done over the past few years with bringing businesses?
Edward Mermelstein: Thanks.
Adi Soozin: I know in February you had a slew of Asian CEOs coming to uh the New England area to meet with you personally to talk about relocating or putting additional headquarters in New York.
Edward Mermelstein: So um yes uh so what’s happened uh po especially postco um we we lost as um it was reported uh quite a few people um that um you know we’re we’re having a very difficult time living in uh what is one of the most uh concentrated cities in the world.
 
 

00:08:06

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um we we have more people living on certain blocks of New York City than um we we have towns uh outside of New York. Um you know when you go to a town uh in Ohio or in Kentucky that has uh 500 people or thousand people, we have uh thousand people in some of the buildings uh in New York City. So, um, most most people don’t really, um, grasp the the size of, um, a city that goes from 8 1/2 million people or 9 million people to 8 million people. And, um, and really, you don’t feel that as much. Uh, you feel it more in terms of tax base. But um what we decided um and when I say we um Mayor Adams and I decided about uh four years ago is that uh we would uh approach the uh diplomatic community in a way that um we haven’t approached them previously. And the idea was to build very strong relationships so that um when the diplomatic community thinks of um where to do business in the United States, they think of New York City.
 
 

00:09:26

 
Edward Mermelstein: So we have the largest diplomatic community in the world. We have um 116 consulates general. We have uh 193 missions um and then all the economic missions on top of that. Um and and then of course we have the United Nations here in New York City. So, between all of those entities, uh, if you treat them well, and I don’t think that they’ve been treated as well, uh, in any other administration as we have under, um, our current mayor who, um, when we said you have to meet with this head of state where you have to meet with this ambassador, um, I would say 90% of the time, uh, unless there is a scheduling conflict, he he would u do that without question because he he trusted that we all have the best interests of New York City in mind. And what happened is uh when you build these strong relationships, we wind up having a very um uh strong um you know the bridge as they say goes in both directions or at least in in in case of New York.
 
 

00:10:40

Edward Mermelstein: So in in our in our um situation uh the the idea was to create a pipeline in a way where the diplomats think of New York City as the only place for them to bring their delegations whether it’s business delegations or diplomatic delegations. And when they’re treated well, they remember that. And um they they certainly make sure that um when uh when a large business delegation comes to the United States that um their focus is on New York City.
Adi Soozin: So you your family has been in commercial real estate in the New York City space for decades. Between you and your brother, you’ve done about what seven eight billion in transaction volume. And I know Yuri has another nine billion in transaction volume just in the pipeline for the next few years. Um, can you walk us through how that impacted how you saw the growth opportunities and the types of growth that you saw under Mayor Adams? Because I know when when I’m watching your brain talk about commercial real estate, you’re like, if I put this type of company here, it’s going to need this many employees, which is going to increase the need for housing in this cost range.

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00:11:49

 
Adi Soozin: So, we’re going to need housing over here. Can you just walk us through how that prior worldview helped you guys to grow the economy over the past few years?
Edward Mermelstein: So uh when when we came to the uh US uh New York City was um in a very difficult place and in the 70s um you you’ll you’ll see movies like the Bronx is burning. That that’s what actually was happening. Uh New York City was burning. Um it it was in a terrible economic uh situation. all all kinds of uh very difficult things happening in New York City. Um and you fast forward uh late 80s early 90s um uh city started coming back coming back very strong. A lot of that had to do with the fact that um uh we we had a mayor that focused on safety um and policing and um there there are certain are arguments that can be made with respect to safety and policing but the one argument that you can make is um it’s very good for real estate.
 
 

00:12:53

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um, and when people live uh in New York and feel safe, um, they will continue to invest and they will continue to raise their children here. And that’s what we were seeing. Um, so the opportunities in real estate in New York are in in many ways similar to the opportunities that we see in the stock market. Um, stock market um over the last h 100red years has done extraordinarily well. Uh in the same fashion, uh real estate in New York over the last 100 years has done extraordinarily well. It’s also one of the safest asset classes. Um unlike uh stocks, it’s very hard to lose 100% of the value of your real estate. And that’s one of the reasons why uh when people invest in New York and New York has always been considered um one of the safest and best performing uh real estate markets in the world on a long-term basis. It’s it’s very very hard to do poorly in uh investing in New York City’s real estate market. And uh as you mentioned, yes, if you’ve been around this market long enough, you can actually uh see uh addresses in in your mind and you can see how uh people have uh shifted from one um uh part of the city uh to another.
 
 

00:14:15

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um you can see how certain parts of the city have grown and uh become extraordinarily popular and in some ways influenced other parts of the country. Uh so for example uh places like uh Soho or uh places like um um you know part parts of uh northern Brook Brooklyn that have just exploded in the last couple of years uh well I shouldn’t say couple of years couple of decades um those those areas influenced um other parts of America. So uh whether it’s certain parts of Miami that have seen a very similar type of growth uh that has been replicated just because of what they were seeing happening in New York. Uh you you even see it in some parts uh of the country that are not as popular uh such as Detroit for example. Um because what was uh happening and I think it started um uh in in a way that everyone is copying uh in Soho. Um, so used to be a very depressed uh poor neighborhood. Um, and someone decided that if they let artists move in into the neighborhood and um and uh just uh live there for free in certain cases that uh cool people will follow and and that’s been replicated not just in uh New York City, in many parts of New York City and in other parts of America, but I think it’s being replicated now all over the world.
 
 

00:15:53

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um, so yeah, that that’s that’s a typical situation.
Adi Soozin: My father used to when we were children, he would drive us to the ghettos around New York City and he would point out all the warehouses and say how if explain how if we wanted to do an urban renewal, we would buy that warehouse and give the entire like a few floors to artists and then what how the rest of the city would redevelop around it.
Edward Mermelstein: Um yeah, that’s that that actually continues uh today. And um now it’s um uh transformed into a little bit of a a different scenario where you have nonprofits uh that are finding locations all over the country um and um are are buying um in in depressed areas. uh warehouses and businesses and moving artists um into those spaces uh in order to reinvigorate those spaces. And and it’s um it’s it’s very interesting to see that uh through the lens of nonprofits as opposed to uh strictly for for profits business. And um for me that’s truthfully a lot a lot more fun to get into the middle of um because um now you’re not just um helping grow uh the business, but you’re also helping artists that would normally not have a place to work out of.
 
 

00:17:25

 
Edward Mermelstein: And um those those are the types of um um relationships and projects that I like to get into.
Adi Soozin: Well, one of my friends uh in May, he was proposing that instead of starting a Heritage Real Estate Fund, I should start a fund with him where we buy these warehouses strategically across the US and put artists in them and then buy all the real estate around it and just sit on it for a few years and wait for it to go up in demand. and of value, but we were like maybe with Heritage Real Estate Fund 3. Um, so what are some of the impactful city-tocity agreements or initiatives you’ve spearheaded to advance New York’s leadership in finance, tech, and life sciences?
Edward Mermelstein: Um so uh under this administration um we actually I think had more um city-tocity agreements and cityto-state as well as in certain cases uh city to federal government agreements uh than any other um administration in New York City. And uh one one of the reasons that we were doing these uh or LOIs um um was basically to drive business to New York City and and and vice versa because it’s it’s always a question of exchange of best practices and our goal was to find strategic uh sectors that um are complimentary to the country or city that uh we were looking to partner with and um and those sectors would help us grow business here in
 
 

00:19:05

 
Edward Mermelstein: New York uh but also help uh our respective partner on the other side of the planet uh grow businesses as well. So um as an example uh of the diversity um we had a umou signed with Ho Chi Min City. Um, we also had anou signed with uh the uh economic ministry of Israel and that’s the diversity that speaks to um us uh trying to connect with uh cities and countries all over the world on issues such as exchange of best practices um in terms of government services but also in uh cases of what we’ve done with Israel it’s basically to drive technology um companies to New York City. And uh how um well the results of how uh this played out and I’ll I’ll give you an example is uh 7 years ago you look back um most of the startups from Israel uh which is known as the startup nation were uh going to um the west coast to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. Uh fast forward today um and this happened mostly in the last three years 75% of the same type of companies coming from Israel to the United States are coming to New York City and I would say that’s a fairly significant swing because uh out out of the 25% uh 7 years ago we were getting maybe 5% of uh that 25% today we are getting 75% of the businesses coming from Israel and that speaks to the business
 
 

00:20:54

Edward Mermelstein: friendliness of New York City uh and um just overall uh feeling that um people people see the fact that it’s the safest large city in America and uh people uh recognize that uh there are very few places in the world where you can raise money as quickly as you can raise it in New York City. So having the capital of finance uh also uh be the city where you have the largest uh number of uh jobs in the technology sector which most people don’t know that we have more tech jobs today in New York than we have finance jobs. Uh that’s that’s our secret sources. Uh the fact that we can have such a diverse economy with um such a diverse uh population and and it all works and um and I think that speaks uh quite highly of uh the current administration today.
Adi Soozin: Okay. As the founder of firms like one and only realy and rebelline, what core philosophy or strategy guided your success in international real estate transactions and how has that translated to what you’ve done most recently with New York City?

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00:22:09

 
Edward Mermelstein: um well I think uh the how it all starts is just hard work. Um and um you look you look at um our kids um so my kids are growing up very very differently than I grew up and uh the fact that uh they want for nothing uh creates um a very different mindset. So I grew up where I had um by the time I was in college uh at least 10 different jobs. um everything from shoveling snow in the wintertime to carrying uh bags uh from a supermarket to somebody’s car and uh getting tips uh for that and and everything in between uh working in hotels as a front desk clerk um in construction. So those those are the jobs that build character and uh having served in the army certainly built quite a bit of character as well. Um, but it certainly didn’t u hurt the fact that I spoke another language and I came from another culture. And I think that’s what um is uh what what drives New York City to be number one in practically anything that uh we go after.
 
 

00:23:23

 
Edward Mermelstein: And the fact that I spoke uh Russian uh having come from the Soviet Union opened up all kinds of doors for me. So when I started as an attorney um in the mid ‘9s the Soviet Union was falling apart and uh money uh from um all kinds of new ventures that were being started in uh the postsviet Union countries started to slowly uh come into the United States. And one of the things uh that uh I recognized along with uh the people that I was working with is that um if you are working with emerging markets and you establish yourself as the expert in those emerging markets um people will uh come to you and uh that’s exactly what happened. Um the press started recognizing what was happening. uh they recognized the fact that as an attorney uh most of the clients uh that were coming into the United States from that part of the world were coming through my office. And then eventually as uh I moved away from the legal field and uh started working in the private equity space and consulting um the same clients basically followed um followed me from the um law side to the family office and consulting side.
 
 

00:24:50

 
Adi Soozin: That makes sense. So you have this way where you make people feel like they’re safe no matter what business venture you go into with them.
Edward Mermelstein: Well, um I I think some of that just has to do with upbringing. Um I I went uh to um so many countries when I was growing up and the fact that I was in first grade three times. um uh whether it’s uh I I don’t know if it’s dyslexia or whatever you call it ADHD. Um I had all kinds of different issues um studying when I was a child because uh each country I came into
Adi Soozin: countries three times. Okay, give yourself a break. What first grader is going to hop to Israel from Ukraine and say, “Oh, I know Russian. Here’s Hebrew.” That’s not dyslexia. That’s a new language. And then hop from Israel to the US and go, “Oh, another completely new alphabet.”
Edward Mermelstein: but
Adi Soozin: Like, you’re holding yourself to this impossibly high standard. If you think at the age of seven you were going to just magically learn three entirely different languages and different alphabets,
 
 

00:25:59

 
Edward Mermelstein: So, uh yes, but at the same time, um you you also don’t really understand in which language you’re writing or which language uh you’re reading because you may be reading in English, but um your brain is still working in German because um in 1976 when I came to the United States and I just started learning English. Um at that point um I was speaking Russian, I was speaking Hebrew, I was speaking German because I went to school or to kindergarten and then first grade in Israel, first grade in Germany and then first grade in the United States. Uh so you you have to relearn but uh your mind is still working in a different language and these these are things that also um you know if if you don’t have a tutor or if you don’t have someone teaching you um how to learn in a new language it’s it’s something that takes quite a bit of adjustment. So, um
Adi Soozin: Okay. Because I’m almost I’m on my way to 40 and I still will mix things up where I’ll be stuck in like Latino or Italian or Spanish and I’m trying to switch to English and I just say I don’t even know how you say that in English.
 
 

00:27:13

 
Adi Soozin: like the other day when you had to correct my Hebrew grammar and it was like, “If if you’re saying my Hebrew grammar is wrong, I believe you.” Like, that’s a completely normal thing. I I think I think you’re holding your six-year-old self to impossibly high standards right now.
Edward Mermelstein: well, Um wi with that said um you know again it goes it goes back to how uh most people grow up and um I I grew up with parents uh that worked extraordinarily hard uh were uh barely at home. Um, so yeah, when I when I see people complaining about uh the difficulties they’re having in the United States, uh, for me it’s it’s very hard to swallow because if you’ve lived in other countries and experienced the hardships in other countries, um, you recognize how wonderful we have it here, how this is truly the best country in the world. With with all its problems, we are still the best country in the world.
Adi Soozin: So in your years with philanthropic roles, what lessons about leadership, crisis, response or global community have stayed with you?
 
 

00:28:22

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um yeah, that that’s uh for me the most rewarding part of anything that I do is um being in the nonprofit sector and uh getting involved with different organizations that are helping people both here in the United States and in other parts of the world that uh can’t help themselves. And uh I think that’s uh something that we as a country and uh New York as a city have to recognize that we we have it so good and um we we’re um rather than complaining about uh all the things that are wrong with this country. Uh we we have to figure out how do we um do what other countries require um just as as part of living in that country. So whether it’s uh volunteering or uh joining the military which many countries require that that’s not required in the United States. Uh there’s no requirement to volunteer anywhere. There’s no requirement to join the military in the United States. And and I hate to say it, but I I think that’s um that’s one one of the things that we are lacking here because um once you you start helping people um whether it’s in your neighborhood or uh going to uh Africa and helping people in South America, um that’s when you start recognizing how wonderful we have it here and how we should be proud of the country that we live in. Um and and that’s that’s
 
 

00:29:53

 
Edward Mermelstein: what I learned in the world of phil philanthropy. Um that um there’s nothing like being able to give back because you get much more from it than you are giving. And um that’s that’s a a lesson that I learned uh from my rabbi over uh many many years that um you know give until it hurts. Um and if you’re not uh if you’re not hurting enough, you’re not giving enough. So, um what’s what’s magical is the more you give um it it all always somehow um uh makes up for itself in one way or another. Whether it’s uh you you have a new deal that comes in that was unexpected or something happens where just because you you didn’t think that you were able to write that big check or or spend the time uh doing something that is helping another person and all of a sudden you see uh something happen that um makes up for it. So um that that’s that’s my two cents on that issue.
Adi Soozin: And everyone who knows my family knows there’s no option not to uh get involved in charity, which is why we have all of those awards from different national, local, and international uh philanthropic endeavors over the years.
 
 

00:31:14

 
Adi Soozin: But um I’m a huge huge huge fan of taking your kids to even if it’s just feeding the homeless or uh helping some nonprofit at least once per month. We had uh last year people were so impressed when my three-year-old was walk at the time walking around and helping move boxes at a charity warehouse one weekend. It was like this is how they were raised. This is what they expect. Once a month they will be helping a nonprofit somewhere. But no, I I think it’s it’s absolutely imperative and um for those of you with kids in middle school, I would highly recommend that you look at Rotary International or another organization. Um something my parents did with us when we were in middle school is we had to go to uh third world countries for nonprofits. Um my first one was a month in Cuba. and it really helps you to realize how much you should appreciate not only about your parents but the country you came from, your family and everything else that you have. Um, okay.
 
 

00:32:14

 
Adi Soozin: So, wrapping up on philanthropy and moving into uh what you’re doing now. So you’ve described investing in emerging markets like Ukraine as a once in a generation opportunity and we kind of already walked through how over the past few years people can look at what you did in New York City with identifying opportunities building microemerging markets uh changing pockets of the city by bringing key stakeholders in which therefore brought in the population. you you brought the companies in and the employees followed and now you’re looking to take that same model and bring it to Ukraine with investing in the development of specific uh professional entities and uh business ventures helping to
Edward Mermelstein: Sure.
Adi Soozin: rebuild the economies there. Do you want to walk us through that?
Edward Mermelstein: So, um start with the fact that I I’ve been working in that um in that world for over 30 years at this point. I’ve been traveling uh to uh the former Soviet Union since um the mid ‘9s and I was uh seeing how um the collapse of the Soviet Union created a tremendous amount of wealth in that region.
 
 

00:33:31

Edward Mermelstein: Um not all of it was um done in a way that I appreciate. um and uh some some very nefarious people that came out of uh those countries with all kinds of different issues. Um but with that said, there were also many great businesses that were built um businesses that went uh beyond their borders. um and and people that um turned uh those businesses into international uh corporations that are now also extraordinarily involved in uh philanthropic ventures as well. So um you know you get you get to see the full gamut. Um and I saw that um happen in the Soviet Union um after it fell apart especially in places like Russia. Russia um created tremendous amount of wealth and a large portion of that um made its way to the United States and a large portion has uh made its way to Europe and other parts of the world. Um I I think we can do better. I I think uh if uh we see peace in the region and Ukraine has an opportunity to go through a similar type of growth spurt.

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00:35:00

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um, one of the big issues that I had with um with Russia and the region in general is um lack of corporate governance um uh rule of law, lack of significant lack of rule of law. Um and again just going back to why this country is so attractive to other parts of the world is that um we we have a great legal system and our rule of law um and corporate governance uh is unmatched and that’s why everybody goes to the United States. So when you build um a bridge between uh the US or in in my case um over the last three and a half years uh between New York City and other parts of the world and export what we do well uh so whether it’s corporate governance uh best practices on running a city um building out uh a system where the rule of law is something that um is uh just in the fabric of a country. If if we can replicate something similar in a place like Ukraine, um you will have uh a country that is going to be um not just one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, but probably one of the most successful countries in Europe.
 
 

00:36:27

 
Edward Mermelstein: And um simple reasons uh is they have everything. Uh their talent is um is extraordinary. uh the the the education there is um top-notch even during uh the war. Uh this the students uh that are studying in Ukraine are still getting uh extraordinarily uh well educated. Um so education is is up there. Um you have one of the richest soils in the world. Uh there’s a reason why Ukraine is uh uh being referred to as the bread basket of the Soviet Union. um their strategic uh minerals and uh metals that are underground. Um something totally untapped and um and uh there’s a reason why the United States uh just recently signed an agreement uh to partner on um what’s underground in Ukraine. Uh so we’re we’re going to see um the reliance on Chinese strategic uh metals and minerals that we’ve been relying on for so many years uh shift uh to other parts of the world and uh Ukraine is going to be right up there. Um technologically uh they’re extraordinarily advanced and we’re seeing that play out on the battlefield.
 
 

00:37:54

 
Edward Mermelstein: Uh so their military tech is um some of the best in the world. And we’ll we’ll be seeing the export of that technology to the US and to the rest of the world as well. And uh in general um their retail uh retail is going to be growing exponentially. The country is going to be uh rebuilding. So infrastructure um is is something that is going to have a tremendous amount of investment. So whether it’s roads, bridges, um office buildings, residential properties, all of those are going to be uh built or or rebuilt simply because much of it was destroyed during the war. So the opportunities in a country that um is between uh Europe on one side and Russia on the other is um just strategically uh very very well positioned to do well long term.
Adi Soozin: What would you say over the next year you are most excited about investing in there versus the next five years speaking in your in your capacity as the chief of the board advisors for Heritage Real Estate Fund?
Edward Mermelstein: Well, um always always uh keeping in mind um risk and uh risk whether it’s during the war or after the war exists in uh that part of the world in a way that uh and and
 
 

00:39:20

 
Adi Soozin: We like you because you we like you because you always find a way to decrease and mitigate it. So
Edward Mermelstein: that’s and that is something that uh we we focus on quite often. and is creating um creating a structure where we reduce the risk as much as possible and that’s that’s something that um we’ve done previously in that part of the world and will continue to do that um because there are mechanisms uh that exist and have always existed. uh you just have to uh make sure that uh you educate the other side as to why certain things are needed in order for a deal to go forward. Um and you know they they they clearly understand the importance of partnering up with uh US entities. whether it’s uh with US funds or uh investors in general um having a US partner in that part of the world uh reduces the risk of a further conflict. Uh the more connections the United States has with Ukraine, the less likely there will ever be another war in that region.
 
 

00:40:31

 
Edward Mermelstein: And they understand that extraordinarily well. uh which is also one of the reasons why they welcome um US investors and US funds, US banks. Um but they also have a lot of work to do in order to um be able to attract uh the US funds in a way that’s going to be meaningful because uh the risk of investing in in Ukraine today is extraordinarily high and uh a lot of it has to do with the fact that the rule of law is not in place where um most people know how to reduce that risk and uh and that’s where uh experts come in. That’s where we come in and uh do our job and make sure that uh our investors money is protected and uh make sure that the government of Ukraine recognizes how important it is to protect investor money from anywhere around the world, but especially from the United States.
Adi Soozin: Okay. So, you don’t want to mention on the show exactly what you were going what you’re you plan to do to mitigate risk. That’s fine.
 
 

00:41:40

 
Adi Soozin: That’s fine. Hold hold your cards close to your vest. I appreciate it. He disclosed in the board meeting like a few minutes ago great strategies, but I guess we’re not going to share those. So you guys can only go through us if you want something done
Edward Mermelstein: Well, we we have to we have to create value uh for um for our business. uh once once we put out uh the secret sauce um then and everybody is going to have a similar similar idea.
Adi Soozin: Copy it.
Edward Mermelstein: Um but again the fact that when you have 30 years of experience in a market um is hard to replicate in any way and uh if you give somebody an idea execution of that idea is not necessarily very simple.
Adi Soozin: Okay. That’s why you’re the best older brother ever. Um, okay. Do you have anything else you want to share with the audience? We have four minutes left.
Edward Mermelstein: Um, so I think we we touched on quite a bit.
 
 

00:42:44

 
Edward Mermelstein: Um, one of the things that uh I’m focused on today is what’s happening in um in the United States and in US politics is is quite worrisome because um a lot of what’s happening is not necessarily uh something that just naturally happens in any country and the fact that um we are so divided today as a country um where you have a mindset uh from large cities being very very different than the mindset of rural areas and uh the south uh having a different mindset than the north is is quite worrisome for me. Um I I grew up uh respecting this country. I grew up uh being very proud of this country and when we see um major changes taking place that that’s certainly certainly of uh concern. Um we we have a significant election uh that is coming up here in New York City and as you mentioned this is the ninth largest economy in the world, one of the most complicated cities uh to run and the fact that you you have uh someone that has absolutely um no experience in running a city um and has gotten to the point of being a Democratic nomine.
 
 

00:44:14

Edward Mermelstein: is is a huge concern because um you understand as someone who has worked in this in this government what needs um what the needs of this government are and what the people in um New York City expect and they expect uh simple things. Uh they expect a safe city. They expect a city to continue thriving economically. um they expect a city that has housing that has affordability. But let’s not forget um when a city is very popular, the housing and affordability are going to suffer because people are going to be moving into the city. Uh the one way to make a city affordable and have more housing is to scare everybody away from New York City. And um if if if if you bring in and we saw this obviously during COVID a lot of people left the city and the prices of real estate dropped significantly um up to 20% in certain areas and um you know that’s that’s something that you can certainly expect when someone comes in uh that um creates a tremendous amount of risk in in business.

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00:45:33

 
Edward Mermelstein: And um and that’s that’s something that worries me quite a bit because I I do expect that the city is going to be run by someone that does have experience. Um so those those are just uh some thoughts I had on what is happening in in our country and especially in our city because I I I’m very invested and vested in what I believe is the greatest city in the world. I want it to succeed and I’m I’m hoping that whoever is going to be our next mayor here in New York is um is going to um do do what’s right for New York City and uh and certainly
Adi Soozin: Not coming.
Edward Mermelstein: not uh create all kinds of hairbrain ideas that are just are impossible to enact and uh impossible to work with. Um cuz that that’s what will happen is you will uh create a very very affordable city but a city that no one wants to live in. And um let’s not forget uh the lesson learned uh from uh what was once um the wealthiest city in the world and that was Detroit and today one of the poorest large cities in America.
 
 

00:46:48

 
Edward Mermelstein: And that’s what uh I think we can expect if we make bad decisions in New York City.
Adi Soozin: What do you think of this comment that uh one of the largest international family offices that likes to crash economies and then buy everything at fire sale races. What do you think of the comment that they’re behind the manipulation of the current New York election?
Edward Mermelstein: So, I I I I hate guessing. Um, you know, it’s it certainly is possible uh that uh something like that happens and um yes, I’m aware that things like that happen around the world. I would hate for that to actually play out in a city like New York because um you’re you’re playing with one of the largest economies in the world and when you try to crash a large economy um you you see what can happen. It didn’t play out too well in Venezuela which was on its way to becoming one of the wealthiest countries in the world. And uh what happened is Venezuela decided to embrace socialism and now it’s one of the poorest countries in the world.
 
 

00:47:58

 
Edward Mermelstein: So and we can we can have these conversations about many many other um socialist governments. I I came from what was a communist government. So I know what that looks like and feels like. I do not want to see it in the United States. Um because it always ends badly. Um, and you can ask anyone that has experienced it, that does live in the United States. You ask any refugee that has come from whether it’s the Soviet Union, um, China in certain cases, um, Venezuela. We have many, many residents from Venezuela here in New York City. um if you tell them that uh socialism is coming to New York City, uh they they will uh they will do anything possible uh to make sure that that doesn’t happen. But um you know, it’s it’s not easy if you’re a refugee from Venezuela living in New York City today.
Adi Soozin: Based on what you’ve seen over the past few decades, when New York City’s economy has like a little micro crash or the bubble bursts, where do how does that impact the rest of the world?
 
 

00:49:10

 
Edward Mermelstein: Well, we we’ve seen this play out. Um, so whether it’s um well, that’s that’s unfortunately the case.
Adi Soozin: the young people who haven’t seen it played out.
Edward Mermelstein: Um is uh mo most of the younger people living in New York uh don’t understand uh what the financial crisis of 20089 felt like. Um it felt like um for me at least like COVID but without being sick. Um it’s very scary. It’s very scary.
Adi Soozin: The suicide rate the suicide rate was off the charts. The unemployment rates across the country. Do you remember a few of those stats off the top of your head? I know I’m throwing this question out of you, at you at
Edward Mermelstein: I I I I don’t remember the stats, but um but I do remember some of the other downturns that we’ve had in New York. Um and um you know to to your point that when you crash uh an economy for a certain period of time, especially places like New York, it’s a buying opportunity. Um that’s not what I want to see.
 
 

00:50:12

 
Edward Mermelstein: That’s not what anyone I know wants to see.
Adi Soozin: it’s not just a buying opportunity. It’s a buying opportunity at the cost of millions if not hundreds of millions of people across the US. The job market after the after we have an economy crash in New York City, the job market in the US crashes. We have an economic collapse across the US. And when we have an economic collapse across the US, then you see an economic collapse in Mexico. And then when they have their econom economy collapsed because ours collapsed, you see a trickle effect all the way through the rest of Latin America as well as many other countries around the world. So one election where people think, oh, it’s just an election. Oh, let’s just let him sit in that spot for a year, it can be a snowball or butterfly effect to crashing the global economy all over again. And we haven’t had enough time for a recovery since the last crash for people to really rebuild and restore their coffers and to re stock their barns and everything else.
 
 

00:51:12

 
Edward Mermelstein: Well, yes. And u and to your point, um co co um messed messed up many people um and the way that they think. Um and and that was very much a physical and a psychological um situation that u destroyed the world in many ways. Um but when you when you look at a collapse of an economy such as what we had 20089 now people were as you mentioned they were committing suicide not just in the United States they were committing suicide all over the world. Um it it was a very very scary situation that um luckily we haven’t seen in a long time but at the same time the fact that we haven’t seen that uh in a long time um people forget and people don’t understand what can happen if if uh you know economies are very fragile and uh if you just give it a very uh simple push in the wrong direction um it it can go very very badly. And uh we we’ve had this conversation over and over. Uh what happens when uh someone that doesn’t know how to run uh one of the largest economies in the world um especially from the financial perspective because New York City is moving into um a very difficult time.
 
 

00:52:41

 
Edward Mermelstein: We we have major reductions in federal uh grants and spending u moving in our direction. in the state um is projecting a large deficit. Uh while New York has done quite well post migrant crisis um we were able to absorb the $7 billion into our economy and get out of it under the leadership of Mayor Adams, but that’s because he tightened the belt and he slowed spending. um that’s going to be close to impossible under um a different type of leadership. A leadership that is trying to give everything away for free. Uh when you give it away That’s
Adi Soozin: But you you also strengthened the you you helped to increase the amount of money coming into the city by having all these huge international corporations bring an office to the city. And now with the next person and his plans, he’s going to be chasing those people that are your cash source out of the city while trying to increase the amount that they’re spending. So he’sing the bank and then going to the bank expecting to pay for things when there’s no money in there.
 
 

00:53:45

 
Edward Mermelstein: correct. Yeah. Um and and unfortunately that is uh the mindset of many uh people that don’t understand economics today. It’s the mindset of people that think that um they don’t have to work for a living that they should be getting everything for free. entitlement um is is something that doesn’t exist in any other part of the world uh that I know of. Um if we’re talking about emerging markets, yeah, emerging markets don’t have that um ability to to think that way.
Adi Soozin: Not in my building.
Edward Mermelstein: People have to actually work for a living and and grit is something that’s part of the fabric in most of those countries. You don’t work, you don’t eat. Um, and the fact that in the United States, people just expect to get things for free is uh it’s it’s unfortunate. You you have to work hard in order to get anything. Uh, and it’s at the end of the day, it’s not free because somebody’s paying for it.
Adi Soozin: Okay, we’re a few minutes over.
 
 

00:54:55

Adi Soozin: Do you have any other things you wanted to All right, thank you so much for your time and answering a lot of questions.
Edward Mermelstein: We’re We’re good. We’re all set. Thank you.
Adi Soozin: Um, some of you from the family office bubble who did not get a chance to meet Edward uh at the event on the 31st. Um, you can connect with him on WhatsApp. for everyone else. You have to navigate an army of social media marketing team members who will not let you talk to them. Sorry, I’m joking.
Edward Mermelstein: I’m I’m I’m actually quite easy to get in touch with despite what Adi says.
Adi Soozin: Okay. So, how do you want people to reach out to you?
Edward Mermelstein: Um um yeah, LinkedIn is uh quite easy.
Adi Soozin: Only with nice things. If you threaten him, I will be very upset.
Edward Mermelstein: It’s probably one of the easiest ways to reach me. Uh and the fact that I’ve just stepped down from government and in the process of uh joining all kinds of different boards and uh ventures, um I will have new emails and phone numbers coming up quite soon.

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