In the early 1980s, a phone call changed Marc Hagle’s life.
The now-president and CEO of Winter Park-based development firm Tricor International LLC, then a budding real estate developer, listened as a Walmart real estate executive greeted him on the other end of the line. Hagle’s mind went blank. “Who’s Walmart?” Hagle recalled asking.
Soon after the call, Hagle paid a visit to Walmart founder Sam Walton, who later became America’s richest man and created the world’s biggest private corporation. Walton asked Hagle to build one of Florida’s first Walmarts. Hagle did, and Walmart kept calling. Hagle eventually built at least 30 Walmart shopping centers before selling the properties.
The Walmart shopping center windfall was one of many major real estate deals that propelled Hagle to become one of Central Florida’s most successful developers, generous benefactors and wealthiest residents. Hagle’s shopping centers now stretch across the U.S., while his business dealings have taken him across the globe.
That said, Hagle’s zeal has alienated some who have worked with him. In addition, his massive new home now under construction in Winter Park — the biggest in city history — has drawn both praise and ire from nearby residents in the posh community known for its pearl clutching.
Still, Hagle, 72, tacks more onto his impressive business portfolio with no signs of slowing. In addition, after years of astronaut training around the world, Hagle said he and his wife, Sharon, are just months away from becoming among the first people to take a commercial spaceflight.
Despite their major impact on the region and out-of-this-world ambitions, the Hagles attempt to stay out of the limelight when it comes to their personal lives. Few people, for example, even know the couple has three children.
In a first-of-its-kind profile, Orlando Business Journal spoke with Hagle as well as his friends and business associates to understand how he achieved his successes and the impact he’s had on Central Florida’s community. Read on to learn more.
EARLY LIFE
In 1956, Hagle’s parents, Harry and Simona Hagle, moved to Florida from Newburgh, New York, partly because Marc experienced sinus infections and was susceptible to getting sick from cold weather.
Harry Hagle, who had served in the Navy in World War II, became a well-known Republican fundraiser in Seminole County and an advocate for affordable housing, earning him the nickname “the father of affordable housing,” according to an Orlando Sentinel obituary. When Marc Hagle grew up, his father owned a heating and air-conditioning business on Railroad Avenue in Winter Park, where his mother also worked.
However, Hagle wasn’t interested in following in his father’s career footsteps. Rather, as a kid, he and his neighbor built a raft and sailed out on a lake in Audubon Park to watch satellite launches. “As a kid, you’re just amazed at what you’re watching,” Hagle said. “I’m sure that influenced how I went forward.”
Later, Hagle took advanced math and science classes at Winter Park High School, according to high school yearbooks. His former lab partner, Genean Hawkins, recalled Hagle’s focus and precision in chemistry class. “I knew it was in my best interest to let him run the show.”
By 1966, his senior year in high school, Hagle was captain of the band while juggling other school club activities and interests. In the back of that yearbook, Hagle was featured in a full-page ad for his father’s firm, Hagle Inc. Hagle’s father bought the ad, which showed Marc Hagle smiling and pointing to the innards of a Luxaire heating and cooling system. The grin betrayed how he really felt about his family’s business.
After graduating from Purdue University with a degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in industrial administration, Hagle walked into his dad’s business and made him make a promise: Harry would never employ Marc.
“I wanted to do it on my own. I didn’t want him to give me the answers. I wanted to earn it.”
REAL ESTATE CAREER
Marc Hagle didn’t have much to his name when he tried to do his first real estate deal in the mid-1970s — an ice rink — as Walt Disney World’s opening in 1971 excited real estate investors across the region.
He flew to Minnesota to meet with ice rink operators, and then traveled back and located a site near Interstate 4 and State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs. However, his plans quickly melted. Upon hearing Hagle’s lack of business experience, the developer who owned the site laughed Hagle off the phone.
So, Hagle called a family friend, late local businessman Lester Mandell, co-founder of homebuilder Greater Construction. Mandell, who owned land where the Altamonte Mall is today, suggested building a bowling alley there. So, Hagle called a representative with AMF Bowling, whose president happened to be in Orlando that day. Hagle eventually reached a deal with AMF to build a bowling alley on another site, he said.
“What I’ve learned over the years is if I’m looking for a deal, it’s hard to find one. But if I stay open to opportunities and really pay attention to what’s around me, the opportunities will present themselves.”
It’s unclear how many deals Hagle has completed in his career, and he declined to share his firm’s annual revenue or his own net worth. However, Hagle has roughly 321 active and inactive entities related to him stretching back decades, according to OpenCorporates.com, which tracks corporations formed nationwide. Roughly 252 of those companies were formed in Florida with another 50 in North Carolina.
Hagle’s Tricor International, founded in 1984, has developed 17.4 million square feet of U.S. commercial space, including shopping centers, warehouses, medical facilities, recreational facilities, drug stores and more, as well as thousands of single-family homes and apartments nationwide, Hagle said. It’s likely that development figure in today’s dollars substantially exceeds more than $1 billion in construction costs, though Hagle said he doesn’t know the value.
Hagle’s dealmaking has earned him a reputation in Central Florida’s real estate circles. Those who have worked with the longtime developer agree he’s the smartest person in the room, and it’s known that Hagle is a relentless worker, sometimes starting his days at 4 a.m.
Hagle’s attorneys said they’ve gotten better at their own profession working with him, as Marc will read every word in a legal document and pepper his lawyers with questions.
“There’s no question he’s absolutely brilliant,” said John Ruffier, a shareholder of Orlando-based law firm Lowndes who has worked with Hagle on real estate deals. “His level of attention to detail is pretty extraordinary.”
However, some say Hagle can be difficult to work with. One former co-worker, who didn’t want to be named, said Hagle was furious with them for years after they left his firm for another job. The two later reconciled. Another business associate, who also didn’t want to be named, characterized Hagle as “a shark.”
Hagle’s litigation attorney, Houston Short, a partner at Gunster law firm, said he’s worked with Hagle for two decades and has won “a lot” of business lawsuits for him. Still, Short didn’t agree with the characterization of Hagle as a cold-blooded businessman. He’s seen Hagle exercise compassion toward others, which is rare in litigation, he said. That’s because Hagle can look across a table and see if someone is trying their best, Short said.
“Marc will do every ounce of what he promised to do in the agreement. He also expects and demands that you fulfill every ounce of your promise made in the agreement.”
LAVISH LIFESTYLE
Beyond his business deals, Hagle’s parties are equally renowned among Orlando’s elite. A few years earlier, the couple requested a city permit to hold a fireworks show at their home.
On Feb. 24, 2018, attorney Short arrived at Hagle’s Winter Park home in a muscleman outfit with his wife dressed as an acrobat for a lavish gathering to which they and other friends from around the world had been invited — one that many attendees still describe as “the greatest party ever.”
At this particular soiree, a midway was erected on platforms next to Lake Maitland behind the Hagle home. A carousel offered rides, actors dressed as strongmen lifted each other and at center stage was a life-sized elephant statue, which has been the source of rumors ever since. Hagle was said to have brought a live elephant to the event, but he denies this and the city of Winter Park has no permits on file showing Hagle sought permission for a living elephant on his property.
The tale of the live elephant, perhaps, is a testament to the party’s legendary status.
Short keeps photos on his phone of the night to show friends, he said. “It was the most fabulous time of my life. It’s terrible to peak early, but I think I already have.”
Of course, Hagle’s home is stunning: a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 16,608-square-foot home on North Park Avenue. The 3.5-acre home’s market value is $6.3 million, putting it among the most expensive in Orlando, Orange County records showed. The Hagles call their home “Casa del Mundo,” as it was inspired by places the couple traveled around the world. The home features a unique ceiling in every room, and the stonework was done by master artisans who allegedly work at Disney.
Meanwhile, Hagle’s former high school lab partner and longtime friend Hawkins recalled thinking of Hagle’s home while driving past the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa in the late 2000s. That’s when she noticed a sculpture of a spider in front of the museum, which was done by the same artist whose spider sat in front of Hagle’s house.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Marc’s spider!’ ” Hawkins said. “I’m going to say that’s impressive.”
Currently, Hagle is building the largest house in Winter Park history, a 40,000-square-foot mansion facing Lake Osceola on Palmer Avenue, which has been the subject of gossip by residents and media. It will feature a basement gun range, a 25-meter lap pool and koi pond. The cost to build the home wasn’t known, but Marc and Sharon Hagle spent $3.7 million to buy the 5.1-acre property alone in August 2017.
The under-construction house even is mentioned on Winter Park’s Scenic Boat Tour, which offers a glimpse at the posh community’s most-expensive homes. Hagle declined to speak about the home, citing privacy and safety concerns. However, as an April Fool’s joke this year, Hagle hung signs around the home billing the project as 200 units of “Senior Hou$ing.” The sign caused some confusion among neighbors who didn’t find it funny.
It’s not the only pricey real estate Hagle owns locally. An entity related to Hagle spent $4.2 million on a 9,000-square-foot office at 270 W. New England Ave. in October 2016, which was among the highest ever paid for office space in Winter Park.
In addition, multiple sources said Hagle has owned or currently owns a private jet, and state records show entities related to private jets and Hagle. A Pinterest page called “Marc Hagle” — which Hagle denies is his — reveals an interest in private aircraft and features photos of a Gulfstream G600 and a Bombardier Global 700.
NONPROFIT IMPACT
Hagle also donates a lot of money toward philanthropic causes.
Central Florida Foundation CEO Mark Brewer remembers getting a call from Hagle in 2004, when Hurricane Charley uprooted nearly 8,000 oak trees in Winter Park, long known for the beautiful, mature trees. The city couldn’t afford to replace them, so Hagle pledged $90,000 and helped raise a total of $300,000 to replant 800 live oak trees.
Hagle, who held weekly meetings in his dining room with people involved in the project, also got the city’s commitment to find the most important places to replant the trees as well as its agreement to maintain them.
Brewer and Hagle have stayed in touch since then, with the developer calling the nonprofit leader for advice on how to help various local causes, Brewer said.
“It’s always thoughtful, big-hearted and complicated. He’s not a guy who just tosses dollars at something. He brings his heart, head and wallet, and tries to get things done.”
Indeed, the Hagles have donated millions of dollars to causes across the U.S. and locally. In 2018, the Marc and Sharon Hagle Charitable Operating Foundation gave $100,000 to the Orlando Science Center, $100,000 to the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health, $50,000 to the OnePulse Foundation and another $50,000 to University of Central Florida Athletics, according to IRS documents. Further, the Hagles gave $750,000 to the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, its largest gift at the time, according to a story in the May/June 2012 issue of Orlando Arts Magazine, which called the Hagles some of the region’s “patron saints of the arts.”
The Hagles likely are among Central Florida's top donors based on the amount of money given, as well as in terms of strategic philanthropy, which is a measure of how much effort and dollars a donor gives, said Brewer.
Further, their donations aren’t limited to Central Florida. In recent years, the Hagles pledged $10 million to build Hagle Hall at Purdue University, a new building to house the college’s music program and more. Jay Gephart, director of Purdue University Bands & Orchestras, said the program had been housed in the same building for nearly 80 years despite the department growing 60% since 2013.
Hagle himself played in the Purdue Band and had stayed in touch with the school over the years. Gephart met Hagle in 2006 in Orlando during a bowl game in which Purdue was playing.
“We have thousands of students who are going to benefit from his generosity over the coming decades,” Gephart said. “To care about a program so much, it speaks volumes about the kind of people they are.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Looking ahead, Hagle shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he seems to be squeezing everything he can from life — the construction projects, parties, the never-ending carousel of deals and more.
After all, when Hagle’s dad stopped working in his 70s, he told his son: “When you retire, you get old and die.”
Hagle has continued to form entities in the past three years, including Tricor Resorts LLC, Tricor Resorts Cayman LLC, MLH Tuscawilla LLC and Tricor Entertainment LLC, state records showed. Hagle declined to discuss current deals with OBJ, but said he’s involved with the Virgin Fest music festival, which he said will be a successful investment due to the pent-up demand for live entertainment once the pandemic is over.
He also remains involved in shopping centers. He’s working with Colliers International Central Florida’s Alexie Fonseca on leasing vacant space at Pine Island Commons shopping center in Cape Coral, Fonseca said. Meanwhile, Hagle is behind the proposed $150 million redevelopment of the Oviedo Mall, which has been under review by the city of Oviedo.
Hagle can’t stop working because he loves it, he said, something his friends and foes agree is true. He loves what he describes as the “juice of the deal,” the inner workings of overcoming all the obstacles of a real estate transaction. There isn’t a business deal, no matter how big, that would make him quit, Hagle said.
“The next deal is my dream deal. There’s always the next deal.”
Still, nothing on Earth matches Hagle’s desire to go beyond it. In 2007, the Hagles spent $200,000 on tickets to fly on a Virgin Galactic spaceflight, and, in the years since, the couple has traveled the world training for the mission. The trip has been delayed for years, but Hagle said Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson promises it will happen in 2021. The space flight will fulfill Hagle’s lifelong dream that started on a raft with his neighbor decades ago.
Perhaps in the future, people will look up as the Hagles soar into the sky. Once in space, Marc Hagle will float in zero gravity for a few minutes in a place few humans have ventured. He’ll turn his head toward the window and gaze into the infinite reaches as a green and blue orb silently spins beneath him.
“How could you not want to do that?”
Marc Hagle
president and CEO, Tricor International LLC
- Age: 72
- Family: Wife, Sharon; three children
- Contact: (407) 629-2040
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3 | 3 | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP |