Q&A: Anthony Marguleas

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Meet Alphabet Streets resident Anthony Marguleas, the man behind Amalfi Estates, a company that donates 10 percent of each home sold to charity.

Shmerling: The Post last sat down with you for a Q&A in November 2012. What are some of the changes at Amalfi Estates that have since transpired?

Marguleas: I founded the firm in 1995. In the past three years we have been expanding our team so now have 11, which make up eight sales partners and two administrative staff.

Shmerling: Tell me about your background. Where were you born and where did you grow up? What were some of your hobbies and interests as a child and teenager?

Marguleas: I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Rancho Mirage. I went to Thacher Boarding School. I have an identical twin.

Shmerling: Where did you go to college and what did you study? What led you to a career in real estate?

Marguleas: I went to UC Riverside where I studied history. Out of college, I was involved in various aspects of real estate since the mid-1990s—from owning a mortgage company to starting my own residential brokerage.

Shmerling: How long have you lived in the Palisades and in which neighborhoods? What brought you here and why do you stay?

Marguleas: The great town and beautiful weather keep me here. I have lived here for 24 years and have owned three homes in the Alphabet Streets.

Shmerling: Do you represent homes in all neighborhoods of the Palisades?

Marguleas: Yes we represent homes in all neighborhoods.

Shmerling: Amalfi Estates gives 10 percent of each home sold to charity. What are some of your favorite organizations to give back to and why?

Marguleas: On each sale, our client selects from one of five charities, each with a different focus. We donate to Make-A-Wish for kids, SPCALA for pets, PATH for homelessness, American Cancer Society for health and Homeboy Industries for a local LA charity.

Annually we give over $200,000 away. We are so fortunate each year to be able to grant five wishes to children through Make-A-Wish, help house 142 dogs until adoption, provide 130 cancer patients one week of lodging while they are getting their treatment, provide housing for 75 homeless individuals and provide one year of job training for one former gang member through Homeboy Industries.

Shmerling: What makes Amalfi Estates unique?

Marguleas: There are a few aspects. First, we don’t market ourselves as a real estate company. We are a philanthropic company that happens to be experts in selling real estate. Since 2014, Amalfi Estates have given nearly $750,000 to charity.

Second, we value our success on our clients satisfaction, so are proud to have 150 five-star client reviews across Yelp, Zillow and others.

With inventory levels some of the lowest ever, we have the largest database of off-market “pocket” properties with close to 600.

For the past 13 years I have taught real estate negotiation and contracts at UCLA, and recently finished an advanced negotiation class at Harvard Business School, along with publishing hundreds of articles, personally selling over $1 billion in real estate by successfully helping over 1,000 clients.

Last year, our team was ranked 154th in the nation by The Wall Street Journal for top teams with $153 million in sales (out of 1.7 million agents), and have been No. 1 in the Palisades the past five years based on sales volume as well as number of homes sold.

Shmerling: What is one piece of advice you give to people who are in the market to purchase their first home?

Marguleas: Only buy if you plan on being in the home for several years since the Palisades market has appreciated 90 percent since the bottom of the market in 2011.

Shmerling: When you’re not working, what do you and your family like to do for fun?

Marguleas: My wife Sue and I are just celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. I actually met her 27 years ago when she was my nurse at Stanford Children’s hospital. I was 26 and had a rare advanced cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, that usually affects kids, which is why I was being treated there.

I was given a low survival rate, but fortunately, with some excellent care, survived, so ever since have been very grateful and appreciative for each day.

I have four kids: Max is 21 and a senior at Boulder, Sam is a sophomore at Georgetown, Anna is a senior at Marymount High school and Jack is a senior at Loyola High school. (So you can imagine, I need to sell a lot of homes!)