Neal Keith Aronson (born 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder and managing partner of

Roark Capital Group Roark Capital Management, LLC, also known as Roark Capital Group or simply Roark Capital, is an American private equity firm with around $37 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market ...

, a

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

. Aronson earned a bachelor's degree from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

. He started his career in the corporate finance department of

Drexel Burnham Lambert Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. was an American multinational investment bank that was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by senior executive Michael Milken. At its height, i ...

. In 1995, together with his uncle, Mike Leven, a former president of

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

, he co-founded

U.S. Franchise Systems U.S. Franchise Systems was a franchise company that owned Microtel Inns and Suites and Hawthorn Suites. It was founded in 1995 by Michael A. Leven and his nephew Neal Aronson. In March 1996, the company acquired the franchise rights to Hawthorn ...

, and expanded a regional chain of 27 hotels into the US's tenth-largest hotel franchisor with more than 1,100 properties before selling it to the

Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in various business enterprises and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since th ...

Hyatt Hotels Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

in 2000 for $100 million, earning Aronson about $10 million. In 2001, Aronson founded Roark Capital. As of May 2025, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' estimated his net worth at US$4.1 billion. Aronson is married to Wendy Conrad; they live in Atlanta, Georgia and have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aronson, Neal Living people American billionaires Lehigh University alumni Private equity and venture capital investors American financial company founders 1965 births Drexel Burnham Lambert American bankers