June 12, 2026 (Camden, NJ) — It is with great sadness that The Michaels Organization announces the death of its legendary Founder and Chairman, Michael J. Levitt, at the age of 94. Levitt started Michaels in 1973, and since then the organization has grown into one of the nation’s foremost leaders in residential real estate, offering full-service capabilities in development, property management, construction, and investment.
“No words can adequately express our sadness at Mike’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to build a first-class national housing organization with him,” said John J. O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer of The Michaels Organization. “ We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much, and to remaining committed to our mission of Creating Communities that Lift Lives.”
As one of the nation’s largest private-sector owners of affordable housing, The Michaels Organization has provided high-quality housing for families and seniors with low and moderate incomes for more than 50 years. Michaels’ current portfolio also includes military housing at 12 installations across the country, as well as student housing, market-rate apartments, and attainable workforce housing. Overseeing more than $12 billion in assets, Michaels currently manages more than 75,000 units spanning almost 600 communities across 39 states, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Mike Levitt was among the first developers to use government-assisted housing programs when Congress passed The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Since then, the organization has been at the forefront of tax credit-financed housing, public housing revitalization, Choice Neighborhoods, and affordable housing in rural areas, using programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2004, Michaels began a partnership with the Department of Defense, becoming one of a select group of private companies to develop and own military housing for service members and their families. Six years laterAbo, The Michaels Organization developed its first student housing community as a partner to Rutgers University in Camden, NJ.
Additionally, Mike was the first in the affordable housing industry to create a scholarship program for residents of affordable housing. Since it was created in 1991, The Michaels Organization Educational Foundation, chaired by Mike’s wife, Patricia Levitt, has expanded to include residents of all of Michaels communities, and has awarded more than $19 million in scholarships to residents.
Because of Mike, The Michaels Organization was also the first to offer supportive services at our affordable housing communities, which became a model for such programs for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Under Mike’s leadership, The Michaels Organization was named Development Company of the Year three times by the National Association of Home Builders, and Property Management Company of the Year, first by NAHB, and then by the Institute of Real Estate Management. In 2012, Mike was inducted into the Affordable Housing Hall of Fame, one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.
Born in Philadelphia to Howard and Annette Levitt, Mike grew up in Ventnor, NJ. He attended Pennsylvania Military Prep School and graduated from Dickerson College. He planned to attend Harvard Law School, but changed his mind after starting a summer job selling real estate. He sold his first house, made a three hundred dollar commission and was hooked. He and a partner, Jack Soble, started Soble Construction. After Jack Soble died in a plane crash in 1972, Mike sold their business to US Homes. By the next year, he had established the development and property management companies that would become The Michaels Organization.
An avid fisherman, Mike was often in the waters off Atlantic City in his boat “The Jersey Devil,” and traveled the world to fish. In 2017, he was inducted into the International Game Fishing Hall of Fame for his achievements in sports fishing and conservation. A former Chairman of the IGFA, Levitt spearheaded efforts to build the IGFA Headquarters in Dania Beach, FL, and The Michaels Organization led the financing and development of the project. By leading the design and financing of a succession of custom sport fishing boats, Levitt also helped to develop the prototype for the large sport fishing boats so widely used today.
Mike holds 16 world records in light tackle marlin fishing; many of which still stand today. One of the many places Mike loved to fish was in Guatemala, where Michael, his wife Pat, and a group of anglers who were Mike’s guests at a billfish tournament hosted at the Casa Vieja Fishing Lodge in Guatemala “adopted a school,” which serves the children of the fishing mates employed at the lodge. The group, along with a large donation from Mike personally, raised more than double the ask—$55,000 in total—enough to fund not just repairs, but a whole new school. Mike got the idea to help the school after reading about its dire condition in a fishing magazine.
Mike’s philanthropic causes also included many local animal shelters along the East Coast and in the Virgin Islands. They were devoted members of The Best Friends Animal Society, which is the only national animal welfare organization dedicated exclusively to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. In 2017, Best Friends was the recipient of a major gift from the Levitts, which enabled the society to establish the Patricia Levitt Medical Fund to help treat vulnerable shelter dogs and cats, with the ultimate goal of getting them adopted into fantastic forever homes.
While well-known for his leadership and generosity, Mike’s integrity was also legendary in the industry, and he was proud of the fact that he was known as the man whose “word was better than anyone else’s contract.”
Above all, Mike was devoted to his family. He is survived by his loving wife and partner Pat, children Dennis (Sharyn), Jill Ramos (Charlos), AJ Bocchino (Phoebe), as well as eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Dr. M. Andrew Levitt and two brothers.
A celebration of Mike’s life is planned for later this summer.
