Robert P. Kogod is a business executive and philanthropist. Along with his brother-in-law,
Robert H. Smith, Kogod led the Charles E. Smith Companies, the real estate company that developed much of the
Crystal City neighborhood, just south of
Washington, D.C.
Career
In 1956, Kogod, who was already a real estate developer, married Arlene Smith, the daughter of real estate tycoon
Charles E. Smith.[2] In 1959, Kogod joined the Charles E. Smith Companies.[2]
Kogod and his brother-in-law, Robert H. Smith, took charge of the company in 1967. Robert Smith oversaw construction and development, and Kogod led leasing and management.[3] In 1995,
Forbes estimated the Smith family fortune to be worth $560 million.[3] In 2001, the residential division of the company was merged into
Archstone, which was sold to
Equity Residential and
Avalon Bay in 2013. The commercial division of the company was merged into
Vornado Realty Trust, which merged the division into
JBG Smith in 2017.
In 2004, Kogod made a $25 million gift to the
Smithsonian Institution to renovate the historic Patent Office Building.[7]
In 2007, Kogod's gift to the Smithsonian Institution also funded a glass canopy, designed by Sir Norman Foster, over the 28,000 square foot Kogod Courtyard that joins the
Smithsonian American Art Museum and the
National Portrait Gallery.[8]
Kogod Cradle, a 200-seat flexible space for plays at
Arena Stage.[9]
Robert and Arlene Kogod Library of Judaic Studies[15]
Kogod Liquors, a fine establishment for whiskey, deli meats. "Since 1946, Kogod Liquors and Deli has provided great wine & spirits through the thick of it all."[16]