TGM Announces the Passing of Co-Founder, Thomas Gochberg
1939 - 2018
NEW YORK, May 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It is with deep sadness and a profound sense of loss that TGM Associates L.P. announces the death of its co-founder and long-time CEO, Thomas Gochberg. Tom passed away on May 24, 2018 after a brief illness.
Tom was born January 18, 1939, in Boston and grew up in Newton, MA, where he was an avid Boy Scout, attaining the rank of Eagle. He attended Columbia College in New York, leaving after two years to enlist in the U.S. Army. The bulk of his military duty was spent in Germany, where he became fluent in German and indulged his life-long passion for history, particularly military history, and especially that of World War I. After fulfilling his military obligation, Tom returned to New York and graduated from Columbia as a member of the class of 1961.
After leaving Columbia, Tom worked for several years at Chemical Bank before joining Smith Barney & Co. to start Smith Barney Real Estate Corporation. In 1970, with Tom's leadership, Smith Barney Real Estate created the first open-ended real estate partnership, SB Partners, which continues to the present day.
Tom was one of the founders of the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and was its first president in 1977 and its second Chairman. The next year he led a successful effort to modify the federal tax code to permit pension funds, under most circumstances, to utilize leverage when acquiring real estate assets without incurring unrelated business taxable income. This has brought hundreds of billions in capital into real estate in the ensuing decades. In 2010, PREA paid tribute to Tom at its annual meeting, honoring him as a founding father of the organization.
In 1979 Tom arranged a management takeover of Security Mortgage Investors, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, becoming its president and renaming it Security Capital Corporation. Subsequently, Security Capital purchased Smith Barney Real Estate from the parent company and merged it into Security Capital, making the combined firm one of the nation's largest fully integrated real estate financial holding companies.
In 1991 Tom co-founded TGM Associates L.P. a specialized money management firm focused on investing in multifamily real estate for large institutional clients. TGM has since grown into a premier real estate investment firm that has acquired 133 properties with cumulative purchase prices in excess of $2.7 billion. In July 2017 TGM celebrated its 26th anniversary. Although Tom passed the torch to the next generation several years earlier, he was and will remain an integral part of its corporate culture.
Tom had been fascinated with sailing since his youth in New England, but had no opportunity to sail until the 1970's. He taught himself celestial navigation and became an expert theoretical sailor. He then purchased a classic 42' wooden Alden yawl, christened Mistral, and proceeded to become an experienced practical sailor. He competed in major world racing events, including the Sevenstar Round Great Britain race and the OSTAR transatlantic single-handed race. He completed several transatlantic crossings, cruised the Mediterranean, circumnavigated Newfoundland, and made a number of cruises to Bermuda.
Tom patron of numerous New York social and cultural institutions, including New York Yacht Club, University Club, American Sail Training Association, Cruising Club of America, and Columbia Alumni. For many years he was a trustee of South Street Seaport in Manhattan.
Tom is survived by his wife Letty, by his daughter, Sarah, by his son, John, and by his daughter in-law, Kim, and by grandsons Morgan and Logan, as well as his brother Donald Gochberg and numerous nieces and nephews.
SOURCE TGM Associates L.P.
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