How NYC brothers $400M summer camp empire fell apart rocking the Israel bond market and leaving parents in a panic
Brothers Michael and David Shabsels amassed a $400 million fortune, becoming known as the summer camp kings of New York.Their empire included 30 kids’ camps in their home state, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as offices, a retail center and water parks.Now, they find themselves on the brink of losing it all.Rounds of heavy borrowing and rapid expansion led to a complicated financial situation with Israeli bondholders claiming to have been burned to the tune of $214 million after the brothers defaulted on payments, they admitted in court papers.As a result, since May 30, they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and been forced to auction off their summer camp empire — currently an ongoing process — leaving many parents with kids currently enrolled on edge.Sources told The Post Michael, 56, has traditionally been the money man, while David, 49, is more hands-on, and the current situation has driven a wedge between them.A camp partner described David as being “fair” and honest.”However, they added: “He claims he has no idea what was going on with his brother.But I don’t believe him, frankly.
How could I? He was a trusted business partner with his brother for 27 years.”The source said they got the sense David felt violated by his brother “because, he explained, it was more like a sickness than anything else.His brother was just trying to right the ship, so to speak, and taking bigger-and-bigger risks. Making things worse, the pair are now under investigation by the DOJ, according to The Real Deal, citing a filing on the Israeli stock exchange.The source said they had never met Michael and only dealt with him via email about financing for the camp where they worked.
He said he’d heard from others that Michael is eccentric, only using a flip phone and memorizing all the phone numbers he needs, but also noted he is always polite and professional.The source said David had told him the financial problems were partly due to COVID, as...