Gary Barnett (real estate developer)

Gary Barnett
Born	Gershon Swiatycki 1956 (age 60–61) Manhattan, New York
Alma mater	B.A. Queens College M.S. Hunter College
Occupation	President and founder of Extell Development Company
Parent(s)	Chaim Swiatycki

Gary Barnett (born c. 1956) is an American businessman. He is President and founder of Extell Development Company, a real estate development company of residential, commercial, and hospitality properties, including several high-profile buildings in Manhattan.

Barnett was born Gershon Swiatycki on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His father Chaim Swiatycki was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He later moved to Monsey, New York. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in math from Queens College and received a Master of Economics degree from Hunter College.

Barnett began his career as a diamond trader in Antwerp, Belgium in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he returned to the United States to diversify into real estate, purchasing shopping malls and office buildings in the Midwest. In 1994, he joined Kevin P. Maloney's Property Markets Group as a principal and made his first New York City purchase, the Belnord apartment house. In 1998, he built what would become the W Times Square. In 2003, Barnett partnered with the Carlyle Group to build The Orion, a 60-story luxury tower on 42nd Street.

Barnett is a 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Heritage Ball honoree. He also received the AIA New York Chapter Award in 2011.

Barnett was ranked #6 on The Commercial Observer's Power 100 list in 2011, #2 in 2012, and #1 in 2013.

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