Gary Friedman is the chairman and chief executive officer of home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware, Inc.
What is Gary Friedman’s Net Worth and Salary?
Gary Friedman is an American businessman and retailer who has a net worth of $2 billion. Gary Friedman serves as the CEO and chairman of the upscale home-furnishings company Restoration Hardware. A year after he resigned due to allegations of inappropriate romantic relations with a female employee, he was reappointed. Before joining RH, Friedman held various positions at the retail company Williams-Sonoma, including COO and president.
Early life
Gary Friedman was born in San Francisco to a Jewish family. When he was five years of age, his father died and he was raised by his mother in Sonoma, California. While attending community college, he worked part-time at The Gap, in 1977. He became the youngest manager in the company’s history, in addition to the company’s youngest district manager and regional manager.
Career
From 1988 to 2001, Friedman worked for Williams-Sonoma, Inc., where he served in various capacities, including as president and chief operating officer from May 2000 to March 2001, and as chief merchandising officer and Director of Retail Stores for both Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn brands from 1992 to 2000.
He was appointed president and chief executive officer of Restoration Hardware in June 2011 and served as co-chief executive officer since 2001. On August 16, 2012, Friedman stepped down after an alleged relationship with a 26-year-old female subordinate employee. Friedman was reappointed co-CEO and chairman of the board for Restoration Hardware in July 2013. At Restoration Hardware he has overseen several reinventions of the company.
Restoration Hardware
After leaving Williams-Sonoma, Friedman joined another upscale home-furnishings retailer, Restoration Hardware. He became the company’s co-CEO in 2001, and in 2011 was appointed its president and CEO. During Friedman’s early years at the company, RH was experiencing declining sales. Things became even more precarious in 2007 when Sears Holding Corporation acquired a 13.7% share of the company, leading some to worry about Sears attempting a full takeover. However, this didn’t happen; instead, RH completed a transaction with the global investor Catterton Partners, and went private in 2008. Four years after that, the company made its initial public offering. RH subsequently expanded its operations, creating a small spaces line and a tableware line, and also opening a gallery in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
Real Estate
Friedman resides in a five-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills, California that he bought for $37 million. Encompassing 11,000 square feet of land, it features a bar, a gym, an infinity pool, a screening room, and a four-car garage. It also boasts a two-story skylight foyer. Outside in the back, there are extravagant gardens on display.
