Israeli-born luxury developer. SHVO founder. $6B+ portfolio across Manhattan, Miami Beach, Brickell. Raleigh Hotel, Mandarin Oriental Brickell Key. The Israeli-origin principal reshaping Florida's luxury hospitality market.
Michael Shvo (born in Israel) is the founder and chairman of SHVO — the New York-based luxury real estate firm that has deployed over $6 billion in acquisitions across Manhattan, Miami Beach, and Brickell. Israeli-born, New York-raised, now building some of the most valuable hotel and residential projects in South Florida.
Shvo made his name in New York as a luxury broker before pivoting to principal development and acquisition. His transition from broker to developer — and from New York to Miami — mirrors the broader migration of Israeli-origin capital from the Northeast to Florida.
The Miami Beach and Brickell Portfolio
Shvo's Florida portfolio includes marquee assets that define the luxury end of the Miami market. The Raleigh Hotel on Miami Beach — a restored Art Deco landmark on Collins Avenue — was acquired and repositioned as a luxury hospitality asset. The Mandarin Oriental Brickell Key development (in partnership with Bilgili Holdings and Deutsche Finance Group) is a luxury condo-hotel project on one of Miami's most exclusive island locations.
The pattern: acquire iconic or trophy-positioned assets in Miami's highest-value submarkets — South Beach oceanfront, Brickell Key waterfront — and reposition them with luxury branding and international buyer distribution. The model is closer to the European luxury-hotel-repositioning playbook than to the ground-up condo development model that Gil Dezer runs in Sunny Isles.
The New York Foundation
Shvo's New York acquisitions include 685 Fifth Avenue (the former Gucci building), the Mandarin Oriental New York residences, the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco (a $650 million acquisition), and 711 Fifth Avenue. The firm operates with institutional capital partners including Deutsche Finance, Bilgili, and BLG Capital. Total portfolio value exceeds $6 billion across markets.
Where Shvo Sits in the Florida–Israel Builder Map
Shvo represents the Israeli-born, New York-trained developer who is now deploying in Florida — a trajectory that parallels the broader capital migration from Manhattan to Miami. His competitive position is different from the Dezers': Shvo acquires and repositions trophy assets; the Dezers build from the ground up on family-owned land. Shvo operates in Miami Beach and Brickell; the Dezers dominate Sunny Isles. The two firms address different buyer segments and different submarkets — but both are Israeli-origin principals reshaping the physical landscape of South Florida luxury real estate.