Daily US Times: New York real estate mogul and President Donald Trump’s friend Stanley Chera has died of complications related to Covid-19, a source close to Chera confirmed.
He was in his late 70s.
According to his company’s website, Chera’s real estate career began when he started buying the retail buildings that held his family’s chain of children’s specialty stores, holdings that became Crown Acquisitions.
His company then diversified from the retail stores to focus on real estate. Crown’s holdings include several iconic New York City properties, such as the Cartier Mansion. and The St. Regis New York.
The top Republican donor was also friend with President Donald Trump.
From 2016-2019, Chera donated a total of $402,800 to Mr Trump for Trump Victory and President Inc. The organizations were dedicated to supporting Trump’s presidency, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Chera’s Crown Acquisitions inked a deal in 2008 with White House senior adviser and now-Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s firm The Kushner Companies and private equity firm The Carlyle Group.
Carlyle Group and Crown Acquisitions took a stake in the retail portion of the building at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City, which was owned by Kushner Companies. The Fifth Avenue skyscraper ended up being a troubled property that weighed down The Kushner Companies’ portfolio for years until the building sold to Brookfield Properties in 2018.
Last November, Chera introduced Trump at the New York City Veteran’s Day Parade, calling the president “my dear friend.”
Trump recognize Chera at a 2019 Michigan rally, describing him as “one of the biggest builders and real estate people in the world.”
Mr Trump said of Chera, “And he’s a great guy and he’s been with me from the beginning.”
On March 24, he had been hospitalized, according to the report of the New York Post.
Trump last month described a friend (without mentioning any name) who was battling the “viciousness” of coronavirus and falling into a coma. It is now believed that Chera was that friend Trump was describing. The facts of Chera’s illness also match what Trump described.
Mr Trump also said: “We thought they were going in for a mild stay, and in one case, he’s unconscious, in a coma. And you say, how did that happen?”
The New York Times reported citing three people related with the matter that rump was describing Chera in his comments about the specific individual.
Chera was in a medically inducted coma at the time, The Times said.