Jack A. Benaroya (July 11, 1921 – May 11, 2012) was a pioneering real estate developer who built what became the Northwest’s largest privately-held commercial real-estate empire which he sold in 1984 for $315 million.
[2] Benaroya was born to Lebanese Jewish immigrants in Montgomery, Alabama[3][4] but spent his childhood in California before moving to Seattle at the age of 12.
[5] After graduating, he took a job at his family's beer distributorship and then went on to serve with the United States Navy in the Philippines during World War II.
[3] In 1984, he sold his real estate portfolio for $315 million shifting the focus of the company to venture capital.
[3] Benaroya was a former director of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce; the United Way of King County; Temple de Hirsch Sinai; Congregation Ezra Bessaroth; the Stroum Jewish Community Center; and the Pilchuck Glass School.