Marc Bell (entrepreneur)

Marc H. Bell
Marc H Bell
Born
Brooklyn, New York, US
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materBabson College, New York University
OccupationsManaging Partner,
Marc Bell Capital
Founder and CEO,
Globix, Chairman and CEO,
Terran Orbital
Board member of
Armour Residential REIT, New York University

Marc Bell is an American financier and entrepreneur. He is the managing partner of Marc Bell Capital, a Miami, Florida-based firm founded in 2002.[1] 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.[2]

Early life and Career

Globix: The Global Internet Exchange (1989-2000)

Bell founded the internet data center company that eventually became Globix Corporation in 1989 at the age of 21[3] and served as its CEO and chairman of the board through the company's IPO in 1996.[4] Bell sold part of his position in Globix in March, 2000 for $120 million and stepped down as CEO.[5][6] Later the dot-com bubble occurred; the company crashed along with the stock market in 2001 as its main internet data centers were located in lower Manhattan.[7] Its market capitalization fell from almost $2.4 billion[8] 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.[9][10]

Publishing (2004-2014)

In 2004, Bell and a partner acquired Penthouse magazine for $52 million as a creditor in a bankruptcy through a vehicle they called "Penthouse Media Group",[2][11][12] and in 2007 Penthouse Media Group acquired Various, which included networking site AdultFriendFinder.com for $500 million[2] and Bell and his partner renamed the company Friend Finder Networks.[12] FriendFinder Networks had over 484 million registered users in over 200 countries across its 44,000 websites, including Amigos.com, BigChurch.com, and SeniorFriendFinder.com. [13] In 2010 Bell, through Friend Finder Networks, tried to acquire Playboy Enterprises but was rebuffed after a $210 million bid.[2][14]

Hospitality (2009-2017)

Through his company Marc Bell Capital, Bell is an investor and partner in restaurants and nightclubs in New York City in ventures such as Country, Artichoke Pizza, Avenue, Lavo, and Catch in NYC.[2][3]

Broadway (2006-Present)

Bell has produced musicals and plays such as Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, The Wedding Singer, August: Osage County, and A Catered Affair.[3] His production Jersey Boys won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2006, and August: Osage County won Best Play in 2008.[15] Jersey Boys was the eighth highest-grossing show in the history of Broadway with worldwide revenue of $1,644,848,098.[16][17] Bell also won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2024 for Stereophonic (play) the most nominated play in the history of Broadway with 13 Tony nominations.[18][19]

Enterprise Acquisition Corp (2007-Present)

In 2007, Bell filed a SPAC with the SEC for $250 million called Enterprise Acquisition Corp.[20] In 2009 it merged with Armour Residential REIT.[21] In 2026 Armour was worth $2.1 billion with over $20 billion of assets.[21]

Terran Orbital (2013-2024)

He is a co-founder and the chief executive officer of Terran Orbital, a manufacturer of small satellites.[22][23] Terran Orbital received $100 million investment from Lockheed Martin.[24] Terran was named one of Time Magazine's Time100 Most Influential Companies 2023.[25] Terran added a satellite to the permanent display of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in March 2023[26]

On August 15, 2024, Bell agreed to sell Terran Orbital to Lockheed Martin for $450 million,[27] and a 6-million-dollar bonus for himself.[28] 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.[29]

Personal

Marc Bell lives in Miami Beach, FL[30] 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.[31] CNBC did a special on the house in 2014.[32]

Philanthropy

In 2001, he joined the Board of Trustees of New York University and Board of Trustees New York University School of Medicine.[2][33][34] At NYU he formed the Marc Bell Public Service Scholarship Award Program.[35] At NYU Langone Health, he formed the Marc Bell Vascular Biology & Disease Program.[36]

In 2013 Bell created The Boca Raton Police Foundation.[37] He later retired as chairman in 2024.[38]

On September 13, 2017, Bell took in 70 foster kids who were displaced during a Hurricane Irma from local shelters.[39][40][41]

References be

  1. ↑ "Detail by Entity Name". search.sunbiz.org. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brett Pulley (July 22, 2010). "FriendFinder's CEO Wants Playboy". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Know Your NYU Trustees: Marc Bell, Whose Company Owns AdultFriendFinder". NYULocal. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on April 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ Staff, New York Times. January 22, 1996 and sold his position in March, 2000 for $120 million Equity and Convertible Offerings for This Week
  5. ↑ "The Insiders". barrons. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  6. ↑ "EDGAR Filing Documents for 0000950123-99-002474". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  7. ↑ "Globix New York City data centers fully operational". Lightwave. 2001-09-13. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  8. ↑ Jones, Dow (2000-01-11). "Globix Splits Stock Again". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  9. ↑ Staff, New York Times. January 15, 2002 Technology Briefing | Internet: Globix Plans To Seek Protection
  10. ↑ "EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001021408-01-507648". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  11. ↑ Bosworth, Patricia (February 2005). "The X-Rated Emperor". Vanity Fair.
  12. 1 2 Pfeifer, Stuart (2013-09-17). "Penthouse publisher FriendFinder files for bankruptcy protection - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  13. ↑ www.sec.gov https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1451951/000139843211001015/d28931.htm. Retrieved 2026-06-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ Jennifer Saba (July 15, 2010). "Penthouse owner offers $210 million for Playboy". Reuters. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Marc Bell – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  16. ↑ "Money, money, money". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  17. ↑ "JERSEY BOYS Broadway Grosses". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  18. ↑ "Stereophonic – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".
  19. ↑ "How 13 Tony Nominations Ignited Struggling 'Some Like It Hot' at the Box Office". Variety via Yahoo Entertainment. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  20. ↑ "SEC.gov | EDGAR Full Text Search". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  21. 1 2 "SEC.gov | EDGAR Full Text Search". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  22. ↑ "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  23. ↑ "People – Terran Orbital". Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  24. ↑ Alamalhodaei, Aria (2022-11-01). "Lockheed Martin increases its bet on satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital with $100 million investment". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  25. ↑ "TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2023: Terran Orbital". Time. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  26. ↑ Costelloe, Kevin (2023-03-08). "Smithsonian Adds Terran Satellite". Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  27. ↑ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  28. ↑ "Terran Orbital Sets $9M Bonus Pool Amidst Merger - TipRanks.com". TipRanks Financial. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  29. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (October 30, 2024). "Lockheed Martin completes acquisition of smallsat manufacturer Terran Orbital". SpaceNews.
  30. ↑ Vallina, Laura (2025-11-19). "Introducing The Official 2025 Haute 100 Miami List". Haute Living. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  31. ↑ Erin Carlyle (May 14, 2014). "Former Penthouse Exec Marc Bell's Star Trek Mansion Hits The Market For $35 Million". forbes. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Nerd-vana: Florida mansion features 'Star Trek' bridge". CNBC. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  33. ↑ "Bio - Marc.com". Marc.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  34. ↑ Communications, NYU Web. "Trustees". www.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  35. ↑ "Marc and Ruti Bell Public Service Scholarship". cas.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  36. ↑ "Marc & Ruti Bell Vascular Biology & Disease Program". NYU Langone Health. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  37. ↑ "About Us". Boca Raton Police Foundation. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  38. ↑ "Marc Bell Retires as Chairman, Named Chairman Emeritus". Boca Raton Police Foundation. 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  39. ↑ Millionaire opens mansion to FL foster kids | CNN, 2017-09-13, retrieved 2023-04-06
  40. ↑ Bacon, John. "Real-life Daddy Warbucks? Millionaire hosts 70 foster kids in mansion after Irma". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  41. ↑ "Florida Couple Who Opened Their Mansion to 70 Foster Kids During Irma Continues to Help". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
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