John Koufakis was born in the Chelsea area of Manhattan and worked for his father as a furrier at the tender age of 12 years old. From humble beginnings, Koufakis now owns and runs the Star Auto Group in Queens – one of the largest and most successful privately owned cardealerships in the metropolitan area with Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mitsubishi,Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai locations as well as a recently opened Fiat dealership, a body shop and several used car dealerships
His success was built on his early business ventures,starting off driving and owning a taxi cab,selling it and buying a Carvel franchise. He converted it into a fast-food eatery and, eventually, a used car lot. Koufakis attributes his accomplishments to his philosophy of growing your company without debt. He now shares his responsibilities withhis three sons, John Jr., Michael and Steven who all participate in managing Star dealerships. Koufakis hopes that his grandchildren too, will join the family business and keep the Star Auto Group alive for generations. Koufakis helped build the Greek Church in his hometown of Brookville and gives endlessly to causes involving children with autism, especially the School for Language Development and the Elijah School. His passion is to collect antiques, particularly Tiffany lamps and Remington bronzes. Koufakis is the proud father of three sons, three beloved daughters-in-law and 11 super grandchildren.
