Mark Wilf (born 1962) is an American businessman who is the president and co-owner of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

, and chairman and co-owner of

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, who were both

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally acce ...

from

Nazi occupied Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. Mark's father, Joseph Wilf (1925-2016), was the first North American Chair of the

March of the Living The March of the Living ( he, מצעד החיים, ) is an annual educational program which brings students from around the world to Poland, where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust. On Holocaust Memorial Day observed in the Jewish cale ...

, which dedicated the 2017 March of the Living to his memory. Mark has one brother, Zygi Wilf. The Wilf family immigrated to the United States from Europe in the early 1950s and settled in

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

. After a brief stint as used car salesmen, Joseph and his brother Harry Wilf began purchasing apartment buildings and renting units. 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 in retail and business property.G.R. Anderson, Jr.
Eye of the Beholder
, ''City Pages'', January 3, 2007. Wilf received a B.A. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and then a J.D from the

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in ...

.MINNESOTA VIKINGS MISSION STATEMENT
retrieved September 19, 2015 After graduation, Wilf joined the family real estate business, Garden Homes. In 2005, Wilf and his brother Zygi Wilf, took control of the

with advisement on the deal coming from international law firm

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

and now-Vikings COO Kevin Warren. Wilf was appointed president and his brother Zygi, CEO. As president, Wilf manages the day-to-day operations of the team and directs all its business departments.

Philanthropy

Wilf is a major donor to the Jewish community including

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

and the Holocaust memorial museum in Israel. Wilf served as National Campaign Chairman for the

Jewish Federations of North America The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 146 Jewish Federations and 300 independent Jewish communities across North America, which rai ...

(JFNA) and was elected Chair of their Board of Trustees in 2018. He was also appointed by the JFNA to lead a new initiative that addresses the needs of impoverished Holocaust survivors living in the United States. He serves as a Trustee of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

. He also serves on the Board of Trust of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. In July 2022, he was elected Chairman of the

Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

Personal life

In 1990, Wilf married Jane E. Frieder in a Jewish ceremony in Philadelphia;New York Times: "Jane E. Frieder Weds Mark Wilf"
October 29, 1990 they have four children. In May 2016, they bought a $7 million house in Palm Beach, Florida from Peter W. May, using a Florida LLC company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilf, Mark 1962 births Living people 21st-century American Jews American billionaires American real estate businesspeople Jewish American sportspeople Minnesota Vikings executives National Football League team presidents New York University School of Law alumni Princeton University alumni Pingry School alumni

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...