Born to a Jewish family, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, who were both Holocaust survivors from Nazi occupied Poland.

After a brief stint as used car salesmen, Joseph and his brother Harry Wilf began purchasing apartment buildings and renting units.

[5] A successful real estate developer, his two main family-run businesses, Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties, have constructed some 25,000 homes in 39 states across the country since their initial ventures; the two entities and their affiliates own and manage 25,000,000 square feet (2,300,000 m2) in retail and business property.

[7] Wilf is a major donor to the Jewish community including Yad Vashem and the Holocaust memorial museum in Israel.

Wilf served as national campaign chairman for the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and was elected chair of their board of trustees in 2018.