Billionaire offers ‘common-sense’ advice

Supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis has been a giant in the New York City business world for over 50 years, starting with the purchase of grocery stores and branching out to an airline, oil and gas, real estate, media investments and other projects.

But as the 77-year-old, known as the "common-sense billionaire", looks back on his incredible journey from humble beginnings to having a net worth estimated to be over $4.8 billion, he reveals he has a slew of new projects in the works.

Among them are shoring up relations between the United States and China, bringing Chinese pandas to New York City, broadcasting "real" news, helping to give back to those in need and inspiring a new generation of young people to dream big.

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with China Daily in New York City, the chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group, a $7 billion conglomerate real estate and aviation company with holdings in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania, reveals the secrets to his success.

"Honesty and integrity is very important," he told China Daily candidly. "If the people you're doing business with trust you, they will work harder for you."

Born in 1948 on the Greek island of Nisyros in the Aegean sea, he immigrated to the United States at just six months old with his parents Andreas and Despina.

"I grew up on West 135th street. My father was a busboy."

Despina was a stay-at-home mom.

"My grandfathers came to America in 1913. But they left my father in the old country to take care of his three sisters and his mom."

Catsimatidis' childhood in West Harlem was pivotal in his life. There, he rubbed shoulders with children from other cultures and learned to work in harmony with anyone. He attended public school, Greek school and Brooklyn Technical High School, a boys' school.

He enrolled at New York University to study electrical engineering. He would go to school during the day and work in a small grocery store at nights and weekends to help his parents pay the bills. He dropped out of NYU to work in the grocery business full time, eight credits short of his degree.

His approach to business was innovative, sometimes staying open for customers until 1 am, opening on Sundays, cashing checks and accepting food stamps. This made him stand out from his competitors.

By his 25th birthday, his 10 Red Apple Supermarkets along Broadway on Manhattan's Upper Westside were making him $1 million a year. He says with pride that some of his employees have loyally worked for him for over 30 years.

Today, the businessman is owner, chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group and its subsidiaries Red Apple Media and the United Refining Company. He owns over 30 Gristedes supermarkets and over 10 D'Agostino supermarkets in Manhattan.

But no matter how high he climbs, he still feels it's his duty to take care of people in need.

He has supported the Police Athletic League for nearly 30 years and regularly holds fundraising drives and gives away turkeys to families before Thanksgiving.

"I came from the poor side of town. I believe those kids need mentors," he added. "And when I go there and I say to them, 'I made it out of 135th Street. If you work hard, you can do it too.' I try to give them inspiration."

The savvy businessman, who has been a Democrat and Republican in his lifetime, knows high-profile Democrats such as the Clintons.

He is also a close friend of President Donald Trump, to whom he reportedly donated $2.4 million last year, The Washington Post reported.

"We met in 1980. We worked together on a charity board. That's how we met. He's a businessman, very successful. A tough businessman, and he's working very hard."

Catsimatidis is clear about the importance of international relations, especially between the US and China, the world's two largest economies, and also in exchanging cultures.

"I believe the Chinese people are one of the wisest cultures we have. We should work together for what's good for the world."

He does his part in bridging the gap between the two countries with cultural exchanges in New York City.

"I love our city. It's the cultural capital of the world. And I love the Chinese people. The Chinese people and the American people are the two most powerful nations in the world. And I believe in bringing our cultures closer together," he said.

He recently attended a concert at Carnegie Hall on Nov 23 that featured three Chinese musicians — pianist Li Jian, violinist Siqing Lu and cello player Hai-Ye Ni — and presented a cultural excellence award.

"It was beautiful music," he said about the concert. "It's a change of culture, beautiful change."

The well-known New Yorker is a familiar face on TV, news and film. He has an acting role in Marty Supreme, a movie with Timothee Chalamet, which will be released on Dec 25.

He is also a regular pundit on his radio station 77WABC in New York, which he purchased for $12.5 million. There, he hosts The Cats Roundtable and the Cats at Night show.

"I bought WABC five years ago as a hobby and I'm enjoying it," he admits. "Of all the companies I run, I enjoy running WABC, which is our smallest company, because we go out and tell the truth.

"Twenty years ago, 30 years ago, 92 percent of the American people believed Walter Cronkite," he said. In the 1960s and 1970s, the venerable CBS news broadcaster was dubbed the 'most trusted man in America'. "Now, nobody believes anybody," Catsimatidis quipped.

His talk show guests have ranged from Senator Ron Johnson to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Trump and more.

The father of two has been married to his second wife Margo Vondersaar Catsimatidis since 1988. They have two children together: Andrea and John Jr.

Margo hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and danced with Russia's legendary Bolshoi Ballet at just 12 years old. She first worked as his administrative assistant in the 1970s.

The businessman recognizes the power of his family's support in the trajectory of his life. He is proud that his children have his business acumen and work alongside him.

"No matter how bad of a day I had," he said, looking directly across at his wife Margo with pride, "she would always smile and try to make my day better. That's the whole idea."

The multi-faceted businessman has not shied away from dipping his toe into the political arena. He ran in the Republican primary for mayor in 2013 but was beaten by Joe Lhota.

He may consider running for governor of New York, he said, but has not made any concrete plans yet.

"I ran for mayor in 2013. Maybe I should have run again. But there's always the governor's office open, that's opening in November 2027. You just never know!"

He admits that he was, at first, skeptical of some of the policies proposed by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani related to the police, but is now urging New York conservatives to work alongside him to ensure the safety and prosperity of the Big Apple — the city that he loves.

"The most important thing is the quality of life for your people," he said.

His book, aptly titled How Far Do You Want To Go? Lessons from a Common-Sense Billionaire, was released in February 2023. He reveals that he is in the process of writing a new book, but has not yet got a title.

He said he likes to write books to ensure that his story is told correctly and to honor his family's legacy.

"I did well because of my father, the dedication he had to his family, honesty and integrity, and working hard versus hoping for a free lunch," he said.

"I want my kids and grandkids to know where we came from. A lot of grandmothers, grandfathers write a book to give to their grandkids or fathers and mothers as inspiration to succeed."

Ultimately, he puts his incredible rise from one of the city's poorest neighborhoods to a place on America's billionaire list — of which there are only 902 in the entire country, according to Forbes in 2025 — down to his instinct, vision and hard work.

"Right now, we all need a lot more inspiration. In my book, it shows you that I had about 10 mentors because somebody has to be a mentor with a little bit of gray hair to teach you right from wrong," he says.