With the support of former Gov. George Pataki, John Catsimatidis battled Joe Lhota for a spot atop the Republican ticket. The Common Good was proud to present an evening reception with Catsimatidis as part of our NYC Mayoral Candidate Series.
John Catsimatidis was born on the Greek Island of Nisyros in 1948, and 6 months later his parents emigrated to New York City. He was educated in both the parochial and public school systems earning his high school diploma from Brooklyn Tech. Catsimatidis enrolled in New York University to study electrical engineering; going to school during the day and working in a small grocery store on nights and weekends to help his parents pay the bills. He dropped out of school to work full time. By his 25th birthday he already had 10 Red Apple Supermarkets. Four decades later the Red Apple Group has evolved into a diversified corporation that has holdings in the energy, aviation, retail and real estate sectors and over 8,000 employees.
