David J. Adelman


David J. Adelman is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Campus Apartments and the co-founder and chair of FS Investments.

Early life and education

Adelman was born to a Jewish family and is the grandchild of Sam Wasserman, a Holocaust survivor. He was raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. Starting at the age of 11, the founder of Campus Apartments, Alan Horwitz served as a mentor to Adelman. At age 13, Adelman invested $2,000 of his Bar Mitzvah money with Horwitz and Campus Apartments. Horwitz invested those $2,000 in off-campus student housing near the University of Pennsylvania. At age 17, Adelman purchased his first solely owned investment property. Adelman attended Ohio State University and graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1994. While in college, Adelman worked in the accounting office and as a leasing agent for Campus Apartments. Adelman was accepted into the Temple University Beasley School of Law, but instead opted to become a Property Manager at Campus Apartments.

Career

In 1997, at age 25, Adelman was named the CEO of Campus Apartments after Horwitz became Chairman of Campus Apartments. As CEO of Campus Apartments, Adelman created a partnership between Campus Apartments and the University of Pennsylvania where off-campus apartments would be renovated. As a result, living standards improved and crime-rates dropped in University City. Adelman has worked to expand Campus Apartments outside of the realm of student housing at the University of Pennsylvania. Under his watch, Campus Apartments has built an extended-stay hotel and faculty condos on the University of Pennsylvania's campus and has built apartments at Franklin & Marshall College and Emory University. Adelman's guidance has resulted in Campus Apartments acquiring more than $2 billion in assets.

Personal life

Adelman is an active member of the Jewish community. He is the co-founder of Jewish Federation Real Estate, Chair of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and sits on the board of the USC Shoah Foundation.
Adelman spoke with Eagles wide receiver, DeSean Jackson after Jackson posted an anti-Semitic quote on Instagram that was falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler. Jackson agreed to visit the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza with Adelman.