Hollywood CEOs: Robert De Niro

By Mike Schuster Oct 28, 2009 8:00 am

The native New Yorker muscles out the competition.

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Aside from being one of the most renowned Hollywood actors of the twentieth century, Robert De Niro is a shrewd businessman. After spending the last two decades dabbling in one business venture after another, De Niro has amassed a sizable stake in Lower Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, rejuvenating the area following the 9/11 attacks. His presence is so well known on Greenwich Street that locals have informally dubbed it "Bobby Row."

But like the ruthless characters he plays onscreen, De Niro can be just as cunning and cutthroat in his enterprises off-camera.

In 1989, spurred by a desire to work behind the camera, De Niro co-founded Tribeca Productions with former CBS (CBS) and Disney (DIS) producer Jane Rosenthal. Together they revived New York as a premiere shooting location rather than cheaper stand-in cities like Toronto and Calgary. The Tribeca Film Center served as an in-house studio and rental space for outside companies to use when in town. In addition, De Niro invested in the Tribeca Grill -- a dining establishment run by restaurateur Drew Neiporent on the ground floor of the production offices.

De Niro told the New York Times that the Tribeca brand was something "to fall back on in hard times.'' He added, "This way I'd have a company that could sustain itself and I could do other things and still have an income.''

If only he remembered that 11 years later when he accepted a role in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Sticking with the restaurant game, De Niro doubled-down in 1994 and partnered with Neiporent and celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa in opening the popular Nobu restaurant on Hudson Street. Since then, the chain has expanded into a dozen more locations worldwide and has become a very lucrative investment for the actor.

But neighborhood eateries weren't the only thing on the esteemed thespian's agenda. In the early '90s, De Niro began dipping his toe in real estate, flipping condos and forming Hudson Street Properties LLC to build $14 million high-end lofts in the area. With his developments becoming so abundant and profitable, the New York Observer ranked him number 26 out of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate last year.

Besides revamping the shuttered Screening Room theater to form Tribeca Cinemas in 2004, the most notable real estate deal De Niro was involved in was also arguably his largest misstep -- not counting Analyze That.

Unfortunately timed just as the recession was underway, the luxury Greenwich Hotel opened its doors on April 1, 2008. Although the site reportedly cost $43 million, 90% was funded through tax-exempt Liberty Bonds that were intended to push rebuilding efforts after 9/11 attacks. The hotel was maligned by critics and locals who questioned the purpose of funding a luxury hotel when the money could be better spent on smaller local businesses. De Niro even had to testify in court following allegations that the construction altered the plans that were approved by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images

The building suffered through curbed consumer spending throughout 2008 and barely reached 50% occupancy by the following February.

Outside of his iconic movie roles, De Niro is perhaps best known for launching the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002. Like the Greenwich Hotel, the festival was formed in response to the attacks the previous year and was also partially funded by government grants -- to the tune of $3.2 million for the festival and $800,000 for the Tribeca Film Institute. American Express (AXP) serves as the main sponsor for the event.

The similarities continue: Attendees have griped about high ticket prices -- much like the exorbitant room fees at the Greenwich -- and the festival's profits continue to falter each year. According to the NY Daily News, the festival generates approximately a $1 million-deficit each year.

De Niro isn't one to take these losses lightly, nor will he tolerate the slightest hint of competition.

He has sicked his lawyers against Chuck Harris -- a neighborhood businessman who runs a firm called Tribeca Network and attempted to start a website entitled Tribeca.net. De Niro's team felt they've represented the Tribeca name enough to block anyone else from infringing on it.

Harris isn't the only one. Gallery owner Laurence Asseraf was issued a cease-and-desist notice after she named a showcase of 60 short films the Tribeca Underground Film Festival. After De Niro gave her a "talking-to" by proxy, she subsequently renamed the festival.

And in 2007, producers at the High Line Festival -- another film event in downtown Manhattan -- spoke with New York Magazine and had a sneaking suspicion that De Niro purposely prevented Tribeca's PR firm from doing press for the younger festival.

In De Niro's defense, he just might be a firm believer of Method acting and is preparing for a role as a thuggish entrepreneur.