Fortress Investment Group
An American alternative investment manager operating across private equity, credit, real estate, insurance, liquid markets, and permanent capital strategies.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
Fortress Investment Group is a New York-based alternative investment manager founded in 1998 by a group of former BlackRock, UBS, and Goldman Sachs executives. The firm began as a private-equity business and expanded into hedge funds, corporate credit, real estate, infrastructure, insurance-related investments, and other forms of permanent capital. Its operating model combines multiple specialized investment teams rather than relying on a single asset class or strategy. Fortress became one of the most prominent investment firms of its generation when it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2007. The listing made it the first large United States private-equity firm to trade publicly. The public-company period coincided with major expansion across private equity, credit, liquid markets, and traditional asset management. By 2016, the firm reported approximately $70.2 billion in assets under management across four core businesses, although assets under management figures vary by date and reporting basis. The firm has invested in companies and assets connected with transportation, resorts, gaming, retail, restaurants, financial services, media, telecommunications, and healthcare technology. Its portfolio and investment activities have included Intrawest, Florida East Coast Industries and the Brightline rail project, Central Maine and Quebec Railway, OneMain Financial, Red Lobster, Loungers, Spa Resort Hawaiians, Curzon, and other operating businesses. These investments illustrate Fortress's preference for situations in which financial restructuring, operational improvement, asset-backed lending, or long-term ownership can create value. In February 2017, SoftBank Group agreed to acquire Fortress for approximately $3.3 billion. The transaction closed toward the end of that year, and Fortress was delisted from the NYSE. It operated as a SoftBank subsidiary for several years while retaining its own investment-management identity. In 2023, SoftBank announced an agreement under which Mubadala Capital and Fortress management would acquire SoftBank's equity interest. The purchase was completed in May 2024, after which Fortress operated as an independent, privately held firm under its own brand. Fortress management retained a minority ownership interest in the independent company. Fortress's present business is organized around alternative investment capabilities including corporate credit, real estate, private equity, insurance, asset-based credit, liquid markets, and permanent capital. The firm serves institutional investors and private clients internationally. In May 2025 it opened an Abu Dhabi office focused on private credit and real estate opportunities in the Gulf region. Public descriptions of assets under management and client numbers should be treated as time-specific; the firm's cited reference profile reported approximately $53 billion in assets under management as of August 2025 and more than 2,000 institutional and private-investor clients worldwide.
History
Fortress Investment Group was established in New York in 1998 by Wesley Edens, Rob Kauffman, Randal Nardone, Michael Novogratz, and Peter Briger. The founders brought backgrounds in private equity, investment banking, credit, and macro investing. Fortress initially concentrated on private equity but soon developed a multi-strategy structure, adding hedge funds, corporate credit, real estate-related investments, and distressed or complex situations. The firm reached a major public-market milestone in February 2007, when it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Fortress was notable because it was the first large United States private-equity firm to become publicly traded. Its public-company period exposed the firm and its principals to increased scrutiny while giving it a listed platform for expansion. By 2016, Fortress described four principal business areas: private equity, credit, liquid markets, and traditional asset management. Fortress's investment history included both financial businesses and operating assets. In 2006, Fortress-managed funds acquired Intrawest, a major North American ski-resort operator. In 2007, a Fortress-managed fund acquired Florida East Coast Industries, the parent of Florida East Coast Railway. That investment later provided the foundation for Brightline, a privately owned passenger-rail business in Florida, and Fortress subsequently invested in the Brightline West high-speed rail project. Fortress also participated in the attempted 2007 acquisition of Penn National Gaming with Centerbridge Partners. The transaction was abandoned in 2008 during severe market stress, with Penn National receiving a substantial termination package. The global financial crisis created difficulties for several Fortress investments. The firm faced financing problems connected with Intrawest and the Vancouver Olympic athlete's village developed by Millennium Development Group. In the Vancouver project, Fortress was the principal lender, but the city ultimately supplied additional funds to complete the village. Fortress later became the owner of the development after the Olympic event. These episodes demonstrated both the opportunities and risks of the firm's asset-backed and special-situations approach. In 2014, Fortress acquired the assets of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and operated the resulting railway as Central Maine and Quebec Railway. Other investments during this period included real estate, hotels, retail properties, and financial-services businesses. Fortress also pursued intellectual-property assets. Funds managed by Fortress owned or controlled VLSI Technology and INVT SPE, which brought patent litigation against technology and telecommunications companies. A related Fortress-controlled entity, Labrador Diagnostics, held patents formerly associated with Theranos and brought a patent case involving diagnostic technology in 2020; it later offered royalty-free access for COVID-19 testing applications. SoftBank Group agreed to acquire Fortress in February 2017 for approximately $3.3 billion. The transaction closed near the end of 2017, and Fortress left the NYSE. It remained a separately identified investment manager but operated as a SoftBank subsidiary from 2017 through the subsequent ownership transition. During this period, Fortress expanded its activity in transportation, consumer businesses, credit, and real assets. In 2023, Mubadala Capital and Fortress management agreed to purchase the equity held by SoftBank. The transaction closed in May 2024, and Fortress returned to independent private ownership, with management retaining a 32 percent equity interest according to the reference material. The independent Fortress has continued to operate as a diversified alternative manager. Its reported strategies include corporate credit, real estate, private equity, insurance, asset-based credit, liquid markets, and permanent capital. Portfolio activity in 2024 included Poundstretcher, Curzon, Red Lobster, and Spa Resort Hawaiians, while a major financing agreement supported the expansion of UK healthcare-provider finance company Tabeo. Fortress also committed additional financing for SoFi. In 2025, the firm established an Abu Dhabi presence to serve Gulf-region private-credit and real-estate markets. Publicly reported assets under management were approximately $53 billion as of August 2025, but this figure is period-specific and should not be treated as a current perpetual total.
- 2025
Abu Dhabi expansion
[1]Fortress opens an Abu Dhabi office serving private-credit and real-estate opportunities in the Gulf region.
- 2024
Return to independent ownership
[1]Mubadala Capital and Fortress management complete the acquisition of Fortress from SoftBank.
- 2020
Labrador Diagnostics patent dispute
[1]A Fortress-managed entity files a patent case concerning diagnostic technology and later offers royalty-free use for COVID-19 testing.
- 2017
SoftBank acquisition and delisting
[1]SoftBank acquires Fortress for approximately $3.3 billion; Fortress leaves the NYSE and becomes privately held.
- 2014
Central Maine and Quebec Railway investment
[1]Fortress wins the assets of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and operates them as Central Maine and Quebec Railway.
- 2008
Penn National Gaming transaction ends
[1]Fortress and Centerbridge withdraw from their proposed Penn National Gaming acquisition amid the deteriorating economic environment.
- 2007
Initial public offering
[1]Fortress lists on the NYSE in February, becoming the first large publicly traded United States private-equity firm.
- 2007
Florida East Coast Industries acquisition
[1]A Fortress-managed fund agrees to acquire Florida East Coast Industries, the investment that later supports the Brightline passenger-rail business.
- 2006
Intrawest acquisition
[1]Fortress-managed funds acquire Intrawest, a major North American ski-resort operator.
- 1998
Fortress is founded
[1]Wesley Edens, Rob Kauffman, Randal Nardone, Michael Novogratz, and Peter Briger establish Fortress Investment Group in New York as a private-equity firm.
Products and positioning
A diversified global alternative investment manager emphasizing specialized investment teams, credit expertise, real assets, complex situations, and long-term ownership.
Investment strategy · 1998
Private Equity
Fortress's private-equity business invests in companies and operating assets where ownership, restructuring, or operational improvement may create value. Its documented portfolio has included transportation, resorts, restaurants, retail, gaming, media, and consumer businesses. The strategy has included both platform investments and complex or distressed situations.
Investment strategy
Fortress Credit
The credit platform covers corporate credit, distressed debt, asset-based lending, and other credit-oriented strategies. It has financed companies and assets through direct loans, structured investments, and specialty-finance arrangements, including facilities supporting consumer and healthcare-provider finance.
Investment strategy
Fortress Real Estate
The real-estate business invests in properties, development projects, hotels, retail centers, resorts, and other real assets. Fortress has also used real estate as part of broader special-situations investments, including the Vancouver Olympic village and commercial properties in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan.
Investment strategy
Liquid Markets
Fortress's liquid-markets activities include hedge-fund and macro-oriented investing. The firm historically operated a large Macro Fund, which it announced would be closed in 2015 after senior investment personnel departed. Liquid markets remain part of the firm's described multi-strategy platform, although individual funds and mandates may change over time.
Investment strategy
Permanent Capital
Permanent-capital strategies seek longer-duration or continuing ownership structures rather than traditional fixed-life fund exits. Fortress has applied this approach to operating companies, infrastructure, financial assets, and other investments requiring patient capital.
Controversies
2019
Intel files antitrust lawsuit over Fortress patent practices
Intel filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court in California, alleging that a SoftBank subsidiary, Fortress Investment Group, hoarded patents to pursue lawsuits and hinder other technology companies. The source does not provide a calendar date for the filing.
2010
Vancouver Olympic village financing controversy
Fortress was the primary lender to the developer of Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics athlete's village. When additional financing was not provided, the City of Vancouver supplied approximately C$450 million to complete the project. Fortress later became the owner of the village after the Olympics.
2009
Intrawest debt and resort disposals
After Fortress failed to make a final payment associated with its Intrawest acquisition, creditors forced the resort operator to sell several holdings in 2009 and 2010 to reduce debt.
Brand decisions
2024
Expand independent private-credit and real-estate operationsStrategyBackground
Following the completion of the Mubadala and management acquisition, Fortress returned to independent ownership.
Action taken
The firm expanded its operating-company portfolio and opened an Abu Dhabi office to serve Gulf-region private-credit and real-estate markets.
Aftermath
Fortress continued presenting itself as a multi-strategy alternative manager with global investment activity.
2023
Agree to management and Mubadala buyoutM&ABackground
SoftBank sought to exit its ownership position in Fortress.
Action taken
Mubadala Capital and Fortress management agreed to acquire SoftBank's equity interest.
Aftermath
The purchase closed in May 2024 and Fortress resumed operation as an independent private firm.
2017
Accept SoftBank acquisitionM&ABackground
Fortress was a publicly traded alternative investment manager seeking a change in ownership structure.
Action taken
SoftBank agreed to acquire Fortress for approximately $3.3 billion. The deal closed later in 2017 and Fortress was delisted.
Aftermath
Fortress operated as a privately held SoftBank subsidiary until the 2024 ownership transition.
Transaction value. $3.3 billion (Announced February 2017; completed December 2017)
2015
Close the Macro FundStrategyBackground
Fortress's approximately $2.3 billion Macro Fund faced the departure of co-chief investment officers Jeff Feig and Michael Novogratz.
Action taken
The firm announced that the fund would be wound down and its assets distributed to investors.
Aftermath
The decision reduced Fortress's exposure to that specific macro fund while the wider firm continued operating multiple investment strategies.
Macro Fund assets. $2.3 billion (2015)
Recent events
Fortress files to foreclose on Bushwick hotel site[4]
Reported:
Fortress Investment Group filed to foreclose on the property at 232 Seigel Street, which is owned by Heritage Equity Partners.
Alamo Drafthouse asset sale agreement[5]
Reported:
As part of its Chapter 11 filing, Alamo Drafthouse entered an asset purchase agreement with previous investor Altamont Capital Partners and affiliates of new backer Fortress Investment Group. The agreement involves the sale of substantially all of the company's assets.
Alamo Drafthouse announces sale of assets to Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group[6]
Reported:
As part of its bankruptcy filing, Alamo Drafthouse was set to sell its assets to Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group.
Omnispace secures $60 million in equity financing[7]
Reported:
Omnispace received $60 million in equity financing from a consortium of investors led by Fortress Investment Group.
Fortress Investment Group acquired Krystal[8]
Reported:
Krystal said it was acquired by Fortress Investment Group, in a transaction reportedly valued at $48 million. The acquisition was effective May 18.
NextNav raises $120 million in debt and equity financing[9]
Reported:
NextNav announced that it raised $120 million in debt and equity financing. Funds managed by Fortress affiliates led the round, with existing investors also participating.
- Unconfirmed
Intel files antitrust lawsuit over Fortress patent practices[3]
Intel filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court in California, alleging that a SoftBank subsidiary, Fortress Investment Group, hoarded patents to pursue lawsuits and hinder other technology companies. The source does not provide a calendar date for the filing.
Sources10 sources
- 1Fortress Investment Groupen.wikipedia.org
- 2Fortress Investment Group official websitefortress.com
- 3Intel files antitrust lawsuit over Fortress patent practicesccw.com.cn
- 4Fortress申请对Bushwick酒店地块启动止赎therealdeal.com
- 5Alamo Drafthouse资产出售协议koel.com
- 6Alamo Drafthouse宣布将资产出售给Altamont Capital Partners和Fortress Investment Groupaustin.eater.com
- 7Omnispace获得6,000万美元股权融资satellitetoday.com
- 8Fortress Investment Group 收购 Krystalfoxbusiness.com
- 9NextNav 获得 1.2 亿美元债务及股权融资prnewswire.com
- 10Intel files patent antitrust lawsuit against SoftBank's Fortress - ZDNETzdnet.com
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