[5] Serving as Arlen's chairman, Cohen began by developing suburban shopping centers throughout the country, and in 1971 he purchased the national discount retail chain E.J.

In addition to Arlen, Cohen continued to invest in real estate, lodging, restaurants, aviation, and manufacturing industries.

[17] Alongside real estate investor Jeff Gural, Cohen was also a partner with David Walentas in the 1979 acquisition of two million square feet of industrial buildings in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

On June 30, 2008, Manafort along with Oleg Deripaska and Rick Gates through their Cayman Islands registered Pericles Emerging Market Partners planned to invest $56 million in CMZ.

"[26] In late 2008, CMZ's interest in the Drake Hotel ended because of lack of enough financial backing although Dmitro Firtash had arranged over $100 million in financing.

[36] Cohen was a former trustee of Brandeis University, New York Law School, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.