Studio 54 Founder Ian Schrager Gets Pardon From Obama on Tax Charge
More than three decades after he ran afoul of his federal taxes, New York City real estate developer Ian Schrager is receiving a pardon from outgoing President Barack Obama.
Schrager, the founder of Manhattan’s famous Studio 54 nightclub, served almost two years in federal prison after being judged guilty on charges of tax evasion back in 1980.
The presidential action has no practical impact on Schrager, who also had to pay $20,000 in restitution.
Schrager grew up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn before he and business partner Steve Rubell started Studio 54, which defined urban cool in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. President-elect Donald Trump was a frequent visitor to the nightclub in its heyday.
He’s up to more boring stuff today, currently heading the Ian Schrager Company, which has developed a number of city hotels since its inception a decade ago and is currently building a new complex of condominiums on Leroy Street in the West Village.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.