Cohen was raised in a Jewish family in Harrison, New York, the son of Gloria and Sherman Cohen. His father was founder of Cohen Brothers Realty & Construction Corporation which he founded with his two brothers in the 1950s. At the age of 16, he made his first short film winning an honorable mention at the Kodak Teenage Movie Awards competition. Cohen attended New York University for a year and a half before transferring to Tufts University where he majored in English. In 1974, Cohen graduated from Tufts. In 1997 he graduated from Brooklyn Law School.
Career
Real estate
Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation is a private commercial real estate development and management firm with a portfolio of 12 million square feet of wholly owned and passively managed Class A office buildings and showrooms of over 300 companies across the United States. Signature projects include the revitalization of Manhattan’s renowned Decoration & Design Building, the Southern California’s Pacific Design Center and the Design Center of the Americas in South Florida, the largest design center in the United States. Cohen’s New York City properties include 623 Fifth Avenue, 622 Third Avenue, 135 East 57th Street, 750 Lexington Avenue, 3 East 54th Street, 805 Third Avenue, 3 Park Avenue, 475 Park Avenue South and the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue.
Hotels
Le Meridien in Fort Lauderdale becomes the first venture into the hospitality arena. Cohen is currently in the midst of a major redevelopment of the hotel, which is located on the DCOTA campus.
Film
Production and distribution
Charles S. Cohen formed Cohen Media Group in 2008 to produce and distribute independent and arthouse films throughout North America. Cohen Media Group is today the largest American distributor of French films in the United States, while its specialty home entertainment label, the Cohen Film Collection, releases restored and remastered editions of classic Hollywood and foreign films on Digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD. Cohen Media Group has distributed over 120 feature films and 10 shorts. On March 24th, 2020, it was reported that amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, Cohen immediately “furloughed” six of the 18 staff members at his Cohen Media Group production company, and gave a number of the remaining workers pay cuts, while vacationing on his personal yacht.
Exhibition
In 2016, Charles S. Cohen spectacularly renovated and reopened one of New York City’s movie houses, the historic Quad Cinema in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York City. He also in the process of redeveloping the historic Larchmont Playhouse in Westchester County into an arthouse/independent film multiplex and is in the planning stage of redeveloping an arthouse/independent film multiplex in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2017, Cohen’s acquisition of the Paris cinema La Pagode, which dates back to 1896, adds to his growing catalogue of arthouse cinemas. Mr. Cohen is currently working with the French government on the plans of the restoration of this Parisian landmark. In 2018, Charles S. Cohen purchased Landmark Theatres, the nation's largest specialized theater chain dedicated to independent cinema with 252 screens in 27 markets. On 23 December 2019, he acquired British art-house cinema chain Curzon Cinemas, including the distribution arm Curzon Artificial Eye.
Two top UK fashion labels, Savile Row tailorRichard James and luxury shoe manufacturer and retailer Harrys of London, were acquired in 2016 and 2017. Cohen has a majority stake and serves as Chairman at Richard James, which recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Cohen serves as Chairman and has a 100% interest in UK-based Harrys of London.
Marvin Alexander
Cohen recently acquired 100% of leading New York City-based lighting company Marvin Alexander, Inc. and its subsidiaries L’Etoile and Couture Shades, with plans to take the brand national and then global.
In 2018, Cohen acquired T Anthony, a 73-year-old luxury leather goods & luggage company.
Personal life
Cohen has been married twice. He has four children from his two marriages. He is divorced from his first wife; they have two children, a daughter and a son who works at Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. In 2004, he married his second wife, Clodagh "Clo" Margaret Jacobs, a former marketing and publicity executive for fashion designer Jimmy Choo, in a Jewish ceremony at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan; they also have two children. The couple divides their time between homes in Manhattan and in suburban Connecticut.
