ART FALCONE
CEO & MANAGING PRINCIPAL, ENCORE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, BOCA RATON
Falcone began his career in the fast-food restaurant industry — investing in McDonald’s and Wendy’s franchises throughout New York, Florida and California. “At 22, I was McDonald’s youngest franchisee and focused on turning around distressed stores. I took all that knowledge and transitioned into real estate — investing in distressed assets and turning them around,” he says. He also began building homes. Today, Encore has more than $2 billion under management.
| PHILANTHROPIC PASSION | My wife and I are very passionate about children’s charities. For S.O.S. Children’s Village in Broward County, our family completely renovated 13 homes for the foster children who live there. |
| FLORIDA ISSUE | One of the biggest setbacks in getting Fortune 500 companies to move to Florida is our state’s litigation system. The amount of frivolous lawsuits happening every day is terrible. |
| staying FIT | Peloton bike and boxing |