WALDEN – Raja Amar sold his telecommunications business, which included 500-plus T-Mobile stores nationwide, for $100 million in 2022.
Amar is still a majority shareholder of Metro by T-Mobile, a prepaid wireless provider with 19 million subscribers. After making a fortune in the wireless game, Amar’s latest venture is – of all things – trying to revive a golf course in Walden hoping to become more relevant.
Amar, 58, purchased Lake Osiris Country Club for an undisclosed amount last May. By his admission, he is losing money on an investment he has already plunked a significant amount of capital into. So the question has to be asked, with all due respect, Mr. Amar: Why bother with Osiris?
“One reason I bought the golf course is to give back to the American public,” said Amar, a native of India, who lives on a 23-acre estate in Stony Point in Rockland County. “I made a lot of money in this country and I came from nothing. I’ve come to a stage in my life where it is time to give back.”
Osiris is already benefiting from Amar’s vision, deep pockets, and the team he has put around him, led by General Manager Dave Fusco and Assistant General Manager Kim Ferracane, who routinely work 60 hours per week. Amar has refurbished the once-antiquated clubhouse, bar, and ballroom at the 97-year-old golf club. The 18-hole course has been revitalized and Osiris has added 12 new heating and air conditioning units.
Membership at Osiris has jumped from 48 single-full members ($6,000 annually) to 153 in a year. Amar’s team is hoping to make a run at 300 members with even more renovations at the facility to come.
“Raj told us that a world-class facility awaits us and he has backed that up,” said Terry Craft, a longtime member from Walden. “He is just beginning and it’s been overwhelming to see what Raj has done so far with his vision.”
Amar’s first swing at golf came when he spent four years and $500,000 trying to purchase Patriot Hills Golf Course and 26 former Letchworth Village acres in Stony Point. He said that residents voted down the town board-supported sale in November of 2021, attributing it to false fears of high-density housing for scaring off support.
Amar pivoted to Osiris after learning about it from a friend, purchasing it from Bill Richards, who owned the club for a decade
“I don’t just believe in fixing Osiris, I want to take it 10 levels up.” Amar said. “and I think we will be successful.”
