New York, NY -- (SBWire) -- 09/29/2011 --Despite the current economic climate, there are still iconic businessmen that create something of value that brings profits, jobs and tangible assets to bear in order to stimulate economic growth and profits. In the field of real estate investment, few people have and continue to accomplish as much as David Lichtenstein.

The accomplished investor is founder and CEO of the Lightstone Group, one of the premier private real estate companies in the United States. The firm possesses more than 19,000 residential units and more than 20 million square feet of retail, office and industrial property in 24 states. Ranked among the 25 largest real estate companies in the industry, his company's assets are valued in the billions.

From the beginning days of his formation and leadership of the Lightstone Group, David Lichtenstein has applied the principles of consistency and excellence to the investment decisions he makes. He operates under a philosophy of opportunistic investing that provides long-term benefits to investors.

David Lichtenstein began his career as a real estate investor in 1986 with an $89,000 property investment. Just two years later he had started his own real estate company. His next milestone was the acquisition of two large outlet mall properties in Orlando. That same year, the firm purchased a group of Chicago office buildings via the procurement of Prime Group Realty Trust.

Establishing The Lightstone Group Value Plus REIT (LSVP EIT) in 2006 brought tremendous growth to the firm through investments in outlet mall properties. This empowered investors to create balanced portfolios through investing in stable real estate properties in a diversified manner. By December of 2009, David Lichtenstein and the Lightstone Group transferred its portfolio of 22 retail outlets to the Simon Property Group for $2.235 billion.

One year later the Lightstone Group closed on the 366-room Crown Plaza Hotel and the adjacent CoCo Key Water Resort for $10-million at auction. As the real estate market inevitably ebbs and flows, Lichtenstein has weathered the changes and continued to grow his investments by sticking to his timeless strategy.

“An element of our business strategy is to acquire companies with good management teams and high-quality assets in locations that we believe provide opportunities as markets recover,” said Lichtenstein. We seek out diamonds in the rough that have existing challenges or complexities that limit their appeal to other investors and do what it takes to make them valuable assets.”

In addition to truly being a job creator, economic stimulator and conscientious corporate citizen, David Lichtenstein has cultivated his philanthropic side to continue to give back to charities and in equally major proportions. To learn more about David Lichtenstein and the Lightstone Group, please visit http://www.davidlichtenstein.org/links/