Sixers' partner David Adelman's 5,000

Jul 21, 2023

David Adelman has developed a taste for pricey tequila.

The Philly-area billionaire spent six figures on a "drinking room" where he can enjoy his extensive wine and spirits collection, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

Adelman — a Penn Valley native and the CEO of Campus Apartments, a real estate firm with more than 300 off-campus student housing properties around the country — was one of several people featured in the Journal article about "high-end homeowners across the country who have multiple rooms in their homes devoted to alcohol." Also featured was a New York entrepreneur who spent $250,000 on a wine cellar and $1.2 million on a whiskey lounge.

Over the course of his collecting, Adelman's palate has expanded to include a taste for premium tequila, according to the WSJ. Among Adelman's shelves is a $7,000 bottle of Clase Azul Ultra Anejo.

"The most expensive bottle of tequila I had in college was probably $8. Premium tequilas now can run from $100 up to $1,000 or more," Adelman, who's worth a reported $1.6 billion according to Insider, told the WSJ.

Adelman, who reportedly has more than 5,000 bottles of wine and 100 bottles of tequila tucked below his Tudor mansion in the Philadelphia suburbs, told the WSJ that he sees collecting as "a form of art."

Beyond stocks and bonds, super-wealthy people have often invested in alternative asset classes such as art or designer watches. Since the pandemic hit, the Journal notes, wine, tequila, whiskey, and other premium alcohols have similarly found a place in their investment portfolios.

The drinking room sits between the wine cellar and tequila room, creating what Adelman termed a "speakeasy downstairs." He didn't disclose how much it cost to build but told the Journal it was in the six-figure range.

After college in Ohio, Adelman joined Campus Apartments, founded by a family friend, Alan Horwitz. Horwitz became a mentor to Adelman and helped him make his first real estate investment: Adelman invested $2,000 of his bar mitzvah money into a building at 45th and Pine Streets.

Though Campus Apartments is Adelman's full-time job, he cofounded FS Investments, a private equity firm — with $25 billion in assets, Insider reported — that operates out of the Navy Yard.

And Adelman's Darco Capital — his family office, or a private wealth- and asset-management firm to oversee Adelman's and his family's finances — has invested in more than 60 companies including Gopuff and Lids. Last year, its subsidiary, Darco Spirits, bought American Harvest Vodka and Beach Whiskey.

In October, Adelman also became a limited partner in the Philadelphia 76ers after buying a portion of Michael Rubin's 10% stake in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the group that manages the Sixers and the New Jersey Devils. That news came just months after Adelman, along with Josh Harris and David Blitzer unveiled plans to finance and build a $1.3 billion basketball arena in Center City.

The Sixers began eyeing a potential new home because the team's lease at the Wells Fargo Center — owned by Comcast Spectacor — expires in 2031. Comcast Spectacor also owns the arena's other tenants, the Flyers and the Wings, the city's professional lacrosse team.