Rechler was born to a Jewish family, the son of Lita (née Rudy)[6] and Roger Rechler.[7] He was raised in Port Washington, New York on Long Island.[8] His grandfather, William Rechler, developed the design for the lightweight foldable aluminum chair after World War II. He later founded Reckson Associates in 1958.[9] Scott Rechler joined the company in 1989[10] and led its initial public offering in 1995 forming Reckson Associates Realty Corp. (NYSE:RA).[11] Rechler became chief operating officer and later co-CEO of the company[9] and he led Reckson's expansion beyond Long Island into the New York and tri-state region.[11] In 2003, Rechler was named chief executive.[12] The company was acquired in early 2007 by SL Green Realty Corp.[13][14] for $6 billion,[15] which resulted in a 700 percent total return for Reckson shareholders.[11] Afterwards, Rechler formed RXR Realty and became CEO and Chairman of the organization.[16][12][17] By 2017, RXR managed over 22 million square feet of commercial real estate and held more than $15.7 billion in assets under management.[18] As of March 31, 2023, RXR has an estimated $20 billion in gross asset value.[19]
In 2018, Rechler was recognized by City & State New York as being one of Long Island’s most influential and powerful people. Rechler is a regular contributor on commercial real estate market trends with commentary appearing on CNBC, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal.
In 2021, Rechler was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Board of Directors and was elected to serve a full term the following year.[26]
Philanthropy
In July 2023, Scott and Debby Rechler donated $10 million to fund research for the use of artificial intelligence at Northwell Health and its Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research to address health disparities and improve medical care.[27]
