Background and career
Jay Harold Shidler (/ʃaɪd-lər/ SHīd-ler; born April 20, 1946) is an American investor and philanthropist. Shidler is the managing partner of The Shidler Group, a national real estate investment organization and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Shidler Family Foundation.
Born in Pasadena, California, Jay H. Shidler, the son of a career U.S. Army officer and a homemaker, grew up on numerous military bases around the world. Shidler attended the University of Hawaiʻi and graduated in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. After graduating from the University of Hawaiʻi, Shidler was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Returning to Hawaii in 1971 as a First Lieutenant, Jay Shidler formed the real estate investment firm The Shidler Group.
Since forming The Shidler Group in 1971, Shidler has acquired and owned more than 2,000 commercial properties in 40 U.S. states and Canada. He founded and was the initial investor in over 30 public and private companies five becoming listed on the NYSE as publicly traded corporations. Shidler was co-founder and the initial Chairman of TriNet Corporate Realty Trust (TriNet), which he took public and listed on the NYSE (NYSE: TRI). TriNet was one of the real estate industry's first publicly traded REITs focused exclusively on net leased commercial properties. Headquartered in San Francisco, TriNet became the largest publicly traded company specializing in sale/leaseback transactions. In 1999, TriNet and Starwood Financial, Inc. (AMEX: APT) merge to form iStar Inc. (NYSE: STAR). Shidler was co-founder and the initial Chairman of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (First Industrial), which he took public and listed on the NYSE (NYSE: FR). Headquartered in Chicago, First Industrial was one of the industry's first publicly traded REITs to focus exclusively on industrial property. Shidler was co-founder, with Clay Hamlin III, and the initial Chairman of Corporate Office Properties Trust (Corporate Office), which he took public and listed on the NYSE (NYSE: OFC). Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Corporate Office Properties was one of the first REITs to focus on serving the specialized requirements of United States Government agencies and defense contractors.
Shidler has been a Hawaii resident since 1964 and has been married to Wallette (Amoy) Shidler since 1970.
Shidler and The Shidler Family Foundation continue to support numerous cultural and educational institutions. Shidler has made significant donations to the University of Washington School of Medicine, the University of Washington School of Law, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Over the past decade, Shidler's transformational gifts to the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi has helped the College become one of the top ranked business schools in the nation.
In 2006, Shidler donated $31 million to the College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu. The college, renamed the Shidler College of Business, used the gift to increase student scholarships and faculty research support, expand academic programs, provide matching gift opportunities, and renovate and upgrade classrooms, buildings and the surrounding environment.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
