Marc Bell is an American financier and entrepreneur. He is the managing partner of Marc Bell Capital, a Boca Raton, Florida-based firm founded in 2002.[5] He is also a producer of plays, musicals and movies.
Education
Bell graduated from Scarsdale High School in the Class of 1985. He later on earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Babson College and a Master of Science degree in real estate development and investment from New York University.[6]
Career
Bell founded the web hosting company that eventually became Globix Corporation in 1989 at the age of 21[7] and served as its CEO and chairman of the board through the company's IPO in 1996[8]
and into the dot-com bubble; as the company crashed along with the stock market in 2001 as its main internet data centers were located in lower Manhattan,[9] Bell as board chairman moved Peter Stevenson into the CEO role.[10] Its market capitalization fell from almost $2.4 billion[11] in 1999 to $5.87 million in 2002 when it went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to its inability to recover from the September 11, 2001 attack.[12][13]
In 2001, he joined the Board of Trustees of New York University and Board of Overseers New York University School of Medicine.[6][14]
Through his company Marc Bell Capital, Bell is an investor and partner in restaurants and nightclubs in New York City in ventures such as Artichoke Pizza and Lavo.[6][7]
In 2004, Bell and a partner acquired Penthouse magazine for $52 million in a bankruptcy auction through a vehicle they called "Penthouse Media Group",[6][15][16] and in 2007 Penthouse Media Group acquired Various, which included networking site AdultFriendFinder.com for $500 million[6] and Bell and his partner renamed the company Friend Finder Networks.[16] In the 2008 Bell attempted to enter the Las Vegas casino market and was interviewed by Robin Leach about his intentions; he brought Penthouse models with him to the interview.[17]
In 2007 Bell filed a SPAC with the SEC for $250 million called Enterprise Acquisition Corp.[22] In 2009 it merged with Armour Residential REIT [23] In 2024 Armour was worth $1.3 billion with over $13 billion of assets [24]
In 2010 Bell, through Friend Finder Networks, tried to acquire Playboy Enterprises but was rebuffed after a $210 million bid.[6][25]
The Friend Finder Networks company and the Penthouse magazine that it owned filed for bankruptcy protection on September 17, 2013. FriendFinder’s current common stock was wiped out and was no longer traded on the open market. In August 2013, FriendFinder's stock was delisted from Nasdaq because it consistently failed to trade for more than $1.[26][16]
In 2013 Bell created The Boca Raton Police Foundation.[27] He later retired as chairman in 2024.[28]
Bell put his house in Boca Raton on the market for $35 million; it included a room modeled after the bridge of the Enterprise D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.[29] The listing was removed in May, 2019.[30] CNBC did a special on the house in 2014.[31]
On September 13, 2017, Bell took in 70 foster kids who were displaced during a Hurricane Irma from local shelters.[32][33][34]
He is a co-founder and the chief executive officer for Terran Orbital, a manufacturer of small satellites.[35][36] Terran Orbital received $100 million investment from Lockheed Martin[37] Terran added a satellite to the permanent display of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in March 2023[38]
On August 15th, 2024, Bell agreed to sell Terran Orbital to Lockheed Martin for $450 million which was 25 cents per share,[39] resulting in a massive hit to shareholders[40] and a 6-million-dollar bonus for himself.[41] At the end of October 2024, Lockheed Martin completed its acquisition of Terran Orbital, becoming the sole owner of the company. Terran Orbital continues its existence as part of Lockheed Martin (rebranded as “Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin Company”) and continues to produce smallsats.[42]
