David Rifkind, the co-founding principal of Century City real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners, died on Jan. 23 from a rare, rapidly degenerative neurological disease,reports The Real Deal. He was 51.
“David was a strategic thinker, looking way into the future as to where the firm should go,” George Smith Partners principal Steve Bram told Bisnow. “Since he was a private lender prior to joining GSP, he had a wide array of experiences which we use when we arrange private loans for clients.”
Rifkind grew up in Encino, graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in history and international relations. He was chairman of the board of Jews for Judaism and a board member of the Ziegler School at the American Jewish University.
Rifkind bought his first building at 22 before he began to manage multiple properties.
In 1992, he launched George Smith Partners with four other real estate professionals.
He is survived by his wife Helen of 25 years, two sons, a daughter, and sister.
