Randall D. Smith
Randall Duncan "Randy" Smith (born 1942) is an American hedge fund manager, and the founder and chief of investments of Alden Global Capital.
Randall "Randy" Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | Randall Duncan Smith 1942 (age 78–79) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Cornell University Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Hedge fund manager |
| Spouse(s) | Kathryn Smith Barbara Stovall Smith |
| Relatives | Russ Smith (brother) |
Early life
Randall Smith was born in 1942.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1965, followed by an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1967.[2][1]
His younger brother Russ Smith founded the Baltimore City Paper and the Washington City Paper, which he sold for $4 million, and in 1989 founded the New York Press.[1]
Career
Smith was a partner at Bear Stearns from 1975 to 1995, where he founded the convertible arbitrage department and later focused on investing in distressed assets.[2][3]
He started his first investment firm at home while still working for Bear Stearns, with $20,000 he and his wife won in the late 1960s on Dream House, a television game show.[1]
In 1998, he acquired the Bryan Tower, a 40-story downtown office building in Dallas, Texas, and his son Caleb Smith oversaw the renovation for his father's company Spire Realty, which he now runs.[4]
In 2002, together with his second wife Barbara (a Houston native), and his brother Jeffrey Smith, Randy Smith bought the historic 100-room 1924 Sam Houston Hotel, extensively remodelled it, and reopened it in 2005 as the Alden Hotel.[1]
In 2007, Smith founded Alden Global Capital, and is its chief of investments.[2]
Controversies
Smith's Alden Global Capital has been known to buy local businesses, newspapers that lead to a loss of jobs and sometimes bankruptcies.[5]
Personal life
He met his first wife Kathryn Smith, when both were Cornell students, and she earned a PhD in political science.[1] They have a son, Caleb Smith, who was profiled in 2011 in the Dallas-based D Magazine, and a daughter.[1][4] Kathryn Smith died of ovarian cancer.[4]
He is married to Barbara Stovall Smith, and they own sixteen mansions in the Palm Beach, Florida, area through limited liability companies.[6] Smith is known for his use of offshore companies.[1]
References
- "The Man Behind the Curtain, Part 1". dfmworkers.org. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "Executive Profile: Randall Duncan Smith". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "Vulture in distress". nypost.com. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "Spire Realty's Caleb Smith: The Next Trammell Crow?". D Magazine. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "The Hedge Fund Vampire That Bleeds Newspapers Dry". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- "Beyond the Hedges: Another house snapped up in buying spree". palmbeachdailynews.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.