Fortress Investment Group

Founded in 1998 by Wesley R. Edens, Rob Kauffman, Randal A. Nardone, Michael Novogratz, and Pete Briger, Fortress Investment Group began as a private equity firm in New York City. The firm quickly expanded into hedge funds, real estate, and debt securities. In 2007, it became the first large private equity firm in the United States to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was later acquired by SoftBank Group in 2017 for $3.3 billion, at which point it was delisted and returned to private ownership.

In 2024, the firm transitioned to an independent brand following a management-led buyout in partnership with Mubadala Capital, which acquired all equity previously held by SoftBank. Today, Fortress operates as a multi-manager investment firm focusing on a diversified range of alternative assets. Its core business lines include credit and asset-based lending, private equity, real estate, and insurance. The firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients and private investors globally.

Fortress has been involved in several high-profile and specialized investments, including the development of Brightline, the only privately owned and operated passenger railroad in the U.S. The firm is also known for its distress and asset-based lending, having provided a $100 million lifeline to Theranos in 2017 and recently acquiring the Red Lobster restaurant chain out of bankruptcy. The firm continues to expand its global footprint, recently opening a new office in Abu Dhabi to focus on private credit and real estate in the Gulf region.