Background
Wilf was born in Germany on April 22, 1950.
Wilf was born in Germany on April 22, 1950.
Wilf attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, earning a bachelor"s degree in economics in 1971, and later graduated from in Manhattan. President Richard Joel presented him with an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Yeshiva University in May 2010 at the university"s 79th commencement. Zygi, along with his brother Mark Wilf, serve as trustees of Yeshiva University.
He received an honorary degree at Fairleigh Dickinson"s 69th Commencement Ceremony in May 2012.
He is the principal owner of the NFL"s The Wilf family immigrated to the United States from Europe in the early 1950s and settled in Hillside, New Jersey. Eventually, the brothers began building single-family homes and founded Garden Homes. 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.
After working as an attorney, Wilf joined the family business and became head of one of the company"s affiliates, Garden Commercial Properties. Wilf has grown the company from four shopping centers in Northern New Jersey to over a hundred properties, including several large malls.
In addition to the commercial properties, the Garden companies also own and manage 90,000 apartment units around the country. Wilf and five partners purchased the of the National Football League from Red McCombs in 2005 for a reported United States$600 million.
Forbes estimates the 2014 value of the franchise at United States$1.007 billion, or 21st of the 32 NFL teams.
Foreign several years the Vikings and Wilf have stated that their former home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was inadequate and had lobbied for a new stadium. In May 2012, the moved closer to getting a new $975 million stadium after the state Senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing. Later that month the deal was signed by Government.
Mark Dayton and narrowly approved by the Minneapolis City Council, ending any speculation of relocation.
The presiding judge noted that Wilf had used organized crime like tactics to commit fraud against his business partners.