Lehman Brothers and BlackRock He began his career in 1987 at
Lehman Brothers, where he was a partner and managing director until 1993. He then went to
BlackRock's private equity division BlackRock Asset Investors, where he remained until 1997 as a partner and managing director.
Fortress Investment Group Edens was one of five principal partners who founded Fortress Investments in 1998. His investment style was described in a 2007
The Wall Street Journal article as one based on "contrarian bets, creative financing and a knack for building business from investments." Fortress became the first publicly traded buyout firm in February 2007, with Edens and his partners taking the company public through an
initial public offering. By the time it went public in 2007 Fortress' assets under management included both private equity and publicly traded alternative investment vehicles — fourteen private equity funds, four hedge funds, and two real estate vehicles. When the Japanese financial
holding company,
Nomura Holdings acquired 15% of Fortress for $888 million in December 2006 with proceeds going to the five principals, Edens and his partners became paper billionaires. Edens became co-chairman in 2009, and helped the company, which saw its stock price fall to below one dollar after the
subprime mortgage crisis, resurge by offering
subprime lending. New Fortress Energy has stated that their main goals include becoming one of the world's leading producers of carbon-free energy (focusing specifically on low-cost
green hydrogen) and existing as a
net zero emissions company within ten years. In 2019, New Fortress constructed a nearly $1 billion floating LNG terminal in Jamaica's
Old Harbour Bay. The prime minister of Jamaica stated that the terminal's presence will result in overall cheaper energy costs for the country. New Fortress Energy has been involved in multiple philanthropic projects in Jamaica after its work completion with the LNG terminal. In October 2020, New Fortress Energy invested in
H2Pro, a startup that develops low-cost green hydrogen technology. Through New Fortress'
Zero, its renewable hydrogen division, the two companies will partner in order develop and commercialize green hydrogen technology. New Fortress plans to launch a pilot program in 2021 to test the usage of hydrogen as an energy source of power generation. New Fortress Energy (NFE) has a contract with the Puerto Rican government until 2026 for the supply of liquefied natural gas to Puerto Rico.
Brightline In 2007, Edens and Fortress paid $3.5 billion to acquire the South Florida rail line founded by the 19th-century industrialist Henry Flagler. Inspired by
Les Standiford's
Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean,
Brightline's first line was an inter-city between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida. The company recently built and opened a to the
Orlando International Airport. The trains are expected to travel up to and commute from
Orlando's airport to
Miami in approximately three hours. The ridership target is 6.6 million passengers within its first full year of service. Trains on this line will be fully electric and run along the Interstate 15 right of way. Brightline's service is modeled on
Eurostar's Paris-to-London commute. By 2015 the value of Springleaf Holdings Inc. had ballooned to "$3.5 billion — putting the firm's gain at more than 27 times Fortress's original investment of $124 million in 2010." Edens was heralded as the "new king of subprime lending" by
The Wall Street Journal. Fortress acquired 80% of Springleaf in August 2010 for $125 million and used Springleaf and Nationstar to "build out a financial-services business within its private-equity unit, which manages $14.3 billion in assets." In 2005 Centex was "operating in major U.S. markets in 25 states and delivered more than 33,000 homes in the United States."
Cincoro Tequila In 2016, Edens co-founded Cincoro Tequila, along with
Michael Jordan,
Wyc Grousbeck,
Jeanie Buss, and Emilia Fazzalari. "Cincoro" is a portmanteau of the Spanish words for five and gold. Its parent company, Cinco Spirits Group, is named in honor of the five founders who aimed to distill a tequila with a smooth, long finish similar to a fine cognac or whiskey. Cincoro produces four tequilas: a blanco, a reposado (aged 8 to 10 months), an añejo (aged 24 to 28 months), and an extra añejo (aged up to 44 months). The agave used to produce Cincoro's tequila is hand-selected from two regions in Jalisco. These two regions include the highlands, which is famous for its soils that are high in iron oxide, and the lowlands, which is composed of mostly volcanic rock. After being harvested, the agave is cooked for 35 hours. Cincoro's tequila is aged in American whiskey barrels for 10 to 14 months in addition to the regulatory minimum of 14 months. Its extra añejo blend is a combination of tequilas that are aged between 40 and 44 months. Edens purchased the brand from
Cloud9 for $2.5 million in December of that year. Players included former Cloud9 Challengers
An "Balls" Van Le,
Hai Du Lam,
Daerek "LemonNation" Hart, and Johnny "Altec" Ru. Each time FlyQuest wins a game, the team plants 100 trees. == Sports ownership ==