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COBB PLANNING GROUP
Ambassador Sue Cobb and Ambassador Charles Cobb steer Cobb Planning Group, a Florida-anchored family office built on Arvida real estate and hospitality.
COBB PLANNING GROUP
The Cobb Planning Group manages capital for Ambassador Sue Cobb and Ambassador Charles (Chuck) Cobb, a couple whose wealth derives from a career-long nexus of real estate, hospitality, and public service. Charles Cobb served as CEO of Arvida Corporation, the Disney-owned community development company behind master-planned Florida enclaves like Boca West and Weston, and later as Under Secretary of the US Department of Commerce before becoming Ambassador to Iceland. Sue Cobb, an attorney and former Florida Secretary of State, served as US Ambassador to Jamaica under President George W. Bush. The family office reflects this unusual blend: private development expertise cross-bred with senior diplomatic and regulatory experience. The Cobb office pursues a concentrated strategy rooted in direct real estate, hospitality ventures, and select private market investments. Asset classes include commercial real estate, residential development, and hospitality operating businesses. The family's footprint is primarily in Florida, where legacy Arvida projects and subsequent holdings anchor the portfolio, but extends into other US markets and occasionally internationally to Jamaica, reflecting Ambassador Sue Cobb's deep ties to the country from her diplomatic tenure. Known positions have included interests tied to the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and related real-estate development partnerships that blend hospitality with luxury residential components. Team size and AUM are not publicly disclosed — the office operates with the low profile characteristic of an established family managing multi-generational wealth away from institutional fund structures. The Cobbs maintain prominent philanthropic and civic engagements, including significant support for the University of Miami, where the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and the Cobb Family Fellowship reflect multi-decade patterns of higher-education and cultural giving. Charles Cobb's board service has included the Knight Foundation and the University of Miami, reinforcing a governance-informed approach to capital stewardship.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
—
Corporate office
—
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Cobb Planning Group?
The office is understood to be run jointly by Ambassador Charles Cobb and Ambassador Sue Cobb, with an emphasis on direct oversight rather than a formalized investment committee. Given Charles Cobb's background as CEO of Arvida and Sue Cobb's legal and diplomatic experience, investment decisions likely reflect a consensus-driven approach rooted in the sectors they know best — real estate and hospitality.
How does Cobb Planning Group source its deals?
Deal flow is predominantly relationship-driven, stemming from Charles Cobb's decades in Florida real estate development and his network of senior business and civic contacts. The couple's diplomatic connections — Charles as Ambassador to Iceland and Under Secretary of Commerce, Sue as Ambassador to Jamaica — provide additional proprietary access to cross-border opportunities, particularly in the Caribbean.
Is Cobb Planning Group structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a real estate investment firm?
Cobb Planning Group is a single family office managing the assets of the Cobb family. While it bears the hallmarks of a real-estate operating principal's vehicle — earning it descriptions as a 'family office with an owner-operator DNA' — it does not market itself as an investment firm, does not raise outside capital, and maintains a low public profile consistent with a pure single-family-office structure.
Does Cobb Planning Group participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The office primarily executes direct investments, particularly in real estate, hospitality, and development projects. There is no public record of the Cobb office acting as a regular limited partner in third-party private equity or venture funds, consistent with a family that has historically made and managed its own operating bets.
What investment stages does Cobb Planning Group typically target?
The Cobbs have historically favored mature, cash-flowing assets — especially existing hotels, commercial buildings, and land parcels in path-of-growth Florida markets — rather than early-stage venture or startup equity. This reflects Charles Cobb's operational background scaling established development platforms rather than incubating new ventures.
Where does the Cobb family wealth come from?
The foundational wealth traces to Charles Cobb's tenure as CEO of Arvida Corporation, a Disney subsidiary that developed large-scale planned communities in Florida beginning in the 1960s and 1970s. Subsequent gains from hospitality investments, private equity, and real estate holdings have compounded the family's assets. Sue Cobb's career as a senior attorney and former co-owner of the Miami law firm Cobb & Cole also contributed.
Does Cobb Planning Group maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
Yes. The Cobbs have directed substantial philanthropic giving through named initiatives at the University of Miami, including the Sue and Leonard Miller Center and the Cobb Family Fellowship. Charles Cobb has served on the board of the Knight Foundation. No separate 501(c)(3) associated directly with the family office has been publicized, suggesting giving is conducted through personal and foundation relationships rather than a standalone Cobb foundation.
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