Miki Naftali — the real-estate mogul who has courted controversy in a seven-year tenure overseeing the Plaza Hotel — is checking out, The Post has learned.
The hard-knuckled landlord — who engineered a $675 million deal by Elad Properties to buy the Plaza from a Saudi prince in 2004 — is stepping down as CEO of Elad, a week after reports that a bitter rent dispute is expected to close the Plaza’s fabled Oak Room restaurant this summer.
Some insiders speculated that Naftali was facing heat from his boss Isaac Tshuva, the Israeli billionaire who owns parent company Elad Group, because of continued tenant turnover in the landmark hotel’s restaurant and retail spaces.
But reached late yesterday, Naftali said he and Tshuva still have “a very good relationship,” and denied that the Oak Room or other recent trip-ups at the Plaza had been a factor.
“This is something that I decided a few months ago,” Naftali told The Post, noting plans to start a new, New York-focused real-estate venture of his own.
Naftali said he will hold a 49-percent stake in Elad Properties and remain chairman of sister company Elad Canada.
“In the last 10 or 11 years I did a lot for Elad,” Naftali said. “I think it’s about time I do it for myself.”
While declining to be more specific, Naftali said his new venture is pursuing “a number of investments,” including one “multiuse project” in New York that includes residential and commercial space.
Naftali added he believes his stint at Elad has been “quite amazing,” and dismissed criticism that he has struggled to find tenants for the Plaza’s empty spaces.