Anthony Marguleas, the founder and owner of Amalfi Estates, was selected to be the Rotary Businessman of the Year. He will be honored at a luncheon meeting at Modo Mio on Tuesday, January 23.
In making the annual selection, Rotary Club members require that this person must hold a senior-level management position in his/her company; live or work in Pacific Palisades; and must have demonstrated leadership within the Palisades and the nominee’s own industry, while also demonstrating a character of “Service Above Self.”
Marguleas founded his company in 1995 and by 2022, The Wall Street Journal ranked it as one of the top 10 teams in the nation out of over 2 million agents and teams.
This Palisadian has been quoted in Architectural Digest, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Extra’s “Mansions and Millionaires,” Forbes, Mansion Global, MSN, People, Robb Report, The Hollywood Reporter, The Real Deal, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Money and Yahoo! Finance.
His support of the town is legendary and as recently as the beginning of the month he donated $5,000 to the Village Green, a nonprofit, private park in the heart of the town, which he’s done annually since 2013.
In 2010, Marguleas “saved” the town’s Fourth of July parade with a $27,000 donation.
He has supported the local little league and Pacific Palisades Baseball Association, the Corpus Christi School’s Golf tournament, Palisades Charter High School, Palisades Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School.
In 2015, he and his team members volunteered and delivered Meals on Wheels and that year through 2018, Marguleas served on the Kehillat Israel board.
Since 2017, Amalfi Estates has purchased thousands of Thanksgiving Pies from Homeboy Industries bakery and given them to local residents to celebrate the holiday season.
His leadership at Almalfi has inspired every relator to give back 10 percent of net commissions to one of six charities: Make-a-Wish Foundation, Wags and Walks, The American Cancer Society, The People Concern (homelessness), Homeboy Industries and Heal the Bay. Since 2015, he and his team have contributed nearly $2 million to these causes.
The result of Marguleas’ philanthropy is 118 cancer patients and caregivers received a week of lodging, 154 former gang members have had tattoos removed and found employment with Homeboy Industries, eight wishes for kids with critical illness have been funded, about 341 dogs have been taken care of while waiting for adoption and the team has picked up 2,045 tons of trash from the beach.
At a 2022 Realtors Annual Conference, Marguleas was a featured speaker on the topics “A How-to on Giving Back” and “Doing Good is Good for Business.”
Marguleas credits his parents Howard and Ardith with teaching him the importance of giving and making a difference in the world.
During his last year in college at the University of California at Riverside, he started charitable scholarships in his parents’ and grandparents’ names, who were awarded to students who did the most community service. While still at college, he was named volunteer of the year by the City of Riverside.
When Marguleas was 26, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, and given a 30 percent chance of survival. He underwent radiation, chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant. It was while he was in the hospital that he met his future wife, an oncologist nurse. Despite the odds, Marguleas prevailed.
He and wife Sue, have four adult children and live in Pacific Palisades and at Lake Tahoe.
Without calling attention to himself, this man has quietly gone about doing good for so many.
Looking at the Rotary business person requirements, Marguleas holds senior-level management position in his company; lives and works in Pacific Palisades; demonstrates leadership in his industry; and truly demonstrates a character of “Service Above Self.”
Pacific Palisades is lucky to have this exceptional person living and doing business in this community.
Most well-deserved! And don’t forget the flamingos!!
What a bright spot during the dark days of Covid. Made for an unforgettable 80th birthday at our house (we still have one pinkie nesting in our yard).
A well deserved honor!
His unselfish service is an example for all of us.
So proud of my nephew!