Richard Ravitch (July 7, 1933 – June 25, 2023) was an American politician and businessman who served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 2009 to 2010.

A native of New York City, he graduated from Yale Law School and he worked in his family's real estate development business, a number of government and government-appointed positions, including with the New York State Urban Development Corporation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority,[1] and in private industry, including tenures as chairman of the Bowery Savings Bank and as the chief owner representative in labor negotiations for Major League Baseball.

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] His father was a co-founder of HRH Construction Corporation, which eventually grew to have offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

[9][10][11] Ravitch was educated at Oberlin College and Columbia University, earning an undergraduate degree in American history with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the latter institution in 1955.

[11][16] He was described as throwing himself "into the job unsparingly", recapitalizing the system, building the Metro-North Railroad from other existing lines, and improving labor relations.

during the 11-day 1980 New York City transit strike, receiving death threats; in April 1981, a guard was injured in a shooting outside Ravitch's office by an armed intruder.

[2][11] Ravitch was assigned a bodyguard and he began wearing a bulletproof vest at some public events and security was provided for his family.

He ran as an "outsider" against incumbent mayor Ed Koch, Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, and city comptroller Harrison J.

[26][27][28] Although some critics claimed he was hired as a "union buster" against the Major League Baseball Players Association, he rejected that characterization.

[27] Ravitch and Susan Molinari were appointed co-chairs of the 22-member Millennial Housing Commission, when it was established by the United States Congress in 2000.

[34] He was appointed by New York governor David Paterson in 2008 to assist in fixing the finances of the MTA,[23] and was a delegate for Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

[36][37] Ravitch was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor at 8:45 pm on July 8, 2009, while eating dinner at Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn.

On July 21, 2009, New York Supreme Court Justice William R. LaMarca issued a preliminary injunction against Ravitch performing any duties of the office.

Working with the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, he presented a series of recommendations on the subject, but his plan was not accepted by Paterson or the New York State legislature.

In looking back on his tenure in office, Ravitch was quoted as saying "The truth of the matter is, I don't feel I accomplished anything very substantive.

The publisher's summary describes the book as "Making [the] case" that "deceptive budgeting and borrowing practices are crippling our states’ ability to do what only they can do—invest in the physical and human infrastructure the country needs to thrive".

[51] According to Kirkus Reviews, "Ravitch draws some lessons about our need to understand the true costs of public benefits," and "underlines the importance of our often messy political process".