Despite his placement on the Rich List, Boston’s Jack Manning is the first to say he builds for the working class. Manning is one of the original founders and the CEO of Boston Capital, the third-largest apartment syndicator in the U.S.
Manning co-founded Boston Capital in 1974 with the intent of providing equity investment capital for apartment developments throughout the country. The company today has roughly 1,855 properties in 49 states and two U.S. territories. It collectively owns over 120,000 residential units, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.
Boston Capital’s $18.7B portfolio is rooted largely in affordable housing. Manning, a Democratic fundraiser, said at Bisnow’s Trump Era Forecast event in March the Republican plan for a lower tax rate makes the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which was born out of the 1986 tax reform, superfluous for investors in his developments.
Low-income housing developments are eligible to receive a tax credit of anywhere from 60% to 90% of the total cost of the property, Manning said, but if taxes are lower, credits become redundant.
A 2006 Boston magazine profile said he could have been ambassador to Ireland if John Kerry had been elected president in 2004. President Bill Clinton has been known to stop by for lunch or to tag along for golf with Manning and the former Secretary of State.
While he may never have been America’s official diplomat for Irish relations, Manning has served on several national housing organizations and government commissions. He served on Clinton’s President’s Export Council, advising him, along with several Fortune 500 executives, on the impact government policy had on the country's trade performance.
A Boston College graduate, Manning also serves on the American Ireland Fund and is chairman of the Distinguished Visitors Program at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation. — Cameron Sperance
