Julien J. Studley

Julien Joseph Stuckgold was born to a Jewish family in Brussels, the son of Max and Marsha Stuckgold.[1] His parents were both Jewish immigrants to Belgium from Poland.[1] He has one younger brother George.[1] In 1940, his family moved to France to escape the beginning of World War II and then moved to Cuba where he apprenticed as a diamond cutter.[1] In 1943, his family moved to New York City, where they had relatives and changed their surname to "Studley."[1] He earned a high school equivalency diploma and first worked in the diamond business and then as an apprentice real estate salesman where his Yiddish helped to lease space in the Garment District.[1] In 1950, he was drafted into the United States National Guard where he served in a propaganda unit and upon his discharge, he took a job as a real estate broker with Brett, Wyckoff, Potter & Hamilton.[2] In 1954, after being fired for an unnamed incident, he obtained a broker’s license and started his own commercial brokerage firm, Julien J. Studley Inc, which he operated out of his apartment.[1] His firm acted as an exclusive agent for commercial tenants representing them in lease negotiations with landlords and developers.[1] In 2002, he sold the company, then with over 400 brokers and 25 offices, for $20 million[1] to associate members of the firm and founded his own real estate investment and management firm, Studley New Vista Associates.[2] In 1963, Studley published the Studley Report, a monthly newsletter which provided a real time summary of all available office space in Manhattan.[3]

In 2014, Savills purchased Studley Inc for $260 million, renaming it to Savills Studley.[1]

Studley was granted an honorary degree from the City University of New York[1] and served as chairman of the New School where he funded the Julien J. Studley Graduate Program in International Affairs at The New School.[4] He was also a prominent donor to the City University Graduate Center and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and its Film Society.[1]

In 1976, he married his first wife, who was thirty years his junior; they had a son Jacob but soon divorced.[2] He then married to Jane Studley with whom he has a stepson, Ni Jun.[1]

A book by Peter Hellman Shaping the Skyline: The World According to Real Estate Visionary Julien Studley chronicled his life.