Austin, Texas◆gene@venturacapital.ai
“Investing in AI intelligence, integrity, and infinite possibility.”
Developer · Capital partner · Author
Gene J. Ventura is an Austin, Texas–based developer, senior housing specialist, capital partner and Amazon best-selling author. He built in downtown Chicago and Southeast Wisconsin, sharpened his capital markets work in Southern California, and for more than 25 years has developed alongside his partner, architect Mark Molinaro. In 2027, Ventura Capital Ai intends to open its first real estate investment fund.
Gene J. Ventura
Founder & CEO, Ventura Capital Ai
Amazon Best-Selling Author
Who’s Who in America 2026
Bank of America Tower
110 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago
Co-GP with The Howard Hughes Corporation
Union Tower
550 W. Van Buren Street, Chicago
Co-GP with Walton Street Capital
NAIOP Chicago Office Development of the Year, 1998
Congress Center
525 W. Van Buren Street, Chicago
Co-GP with Oaktree Capital Management
Recognition & credentials
Who’s Who in America
2026 Inductee
#1 Amazon Best Seller
Psychoanalysis
Not Done Yet
NAIOP Chicago
Office Development of the Year
U.S. House of Representatives
Congressional Recognition
USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Certified in Aging & Seniors Housing
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Economics
Gene@VenturaCapital.ai512-878-9005LinkedInFacebookInstagramTikTokNot Done YetAustin, TX
2027Announcement · November 2026
The fund is planned to invest directly in multifamily, flex industrial, self-storage, senior housing and other value-add real estate, underwritten by people who have built it, financed it and sold it.
This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any offering will be made only to accredited investors through definitive offering documents. Securities disclosures.
The second act
Gene tells the story in his bestselling memoir, Not Done Yet: a near-death experience, a long road back, and a decision to spend the time he was given on work that lasts.
That work is what he has done since the 1990s: find the site, structure the capital and get it built. He does it now with better tools and a clearer reason. Ventura Capital Ai brings it together: development with Mark Molinaro, fractional Chief Investment Officer leadership for development companies, and in 2027, a fund of its own.
In 2025 Gene moved to Austin, Texas, from Rancho Santa Fe, California, to found Ventura Capital Ai and Love Wins Media Publications, the imprint behind his self-published #1 Amazon best seller in Psychoanalysis.
Every week on LinkedIn, Gene writes about commercial real estate, senior housing and capital for more than 17,000 followers.
Investing in AI intelligence, integrity, and infinite possibility.
Ventura + Molinaro
Kenosha natives who went to high school together, and development partners since 2000.
Founder & CEO, Ventura Capital Ai
Amazon Best-Selling Author
Gene leads the deals, the capital, the lenders and the investors. Former co-GP with Walton Street Capital, Oaktree Capital Management and The Howard Hughes Corporation.
An operator-first senior housing advisor, certified by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, who writes weekly on LinkedIn for more than 17,000 followers.
Architect
Principal, Partners in Design Architects
An NCARB-certified architect with 35 years in private practice and public service, registered in seven states. Mark leads design, value engineering and the work with the city on every development. Partners in Design was founded in Kenosha in 1991, with offices in Kenosha and Riverwoods, Illinois.
His firm’s commitment is to give every client “a rewarding building experience which exceeds their project expectations.” Mark is known for client satisfaction and accountability.
Together they turned farmland at Highway 50 and I-94 into a retail corridor for Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie. They brought national retailers to town, including the first three Starbucks drive-thrus in Southeast Wisconsin and a single-tenant Best Buy. Today they are taking Black Hawk Ridge from site to construction.
What we do
01
With Mark Molinaro and Partners in Design, from land entitlement to pro forma budget: city planning, ground-up retail, problem developments and co-GP partnerships.
Ventura + Molinaro02
Operator-first senior housing advisory, and a principal in the seat for development companies that need capital strategy, lenders, investors and institutional underwriting.
See advisory services03
A planned fund investing directly in multifamily, flex industrial, self-storage, senior housing and other value-add real estate.
Read the statementCompleted transactions
Office · Chicago
1.5M SF
Ground-up development as co-GP alongside Walton Street Capital, Oaktree Capital Management and The Howard Hughes Corporation
Co-GP · Developer
1990s – 2003
Office · Chicago West Loop
330,000 SF
550 W. Van Buren Street. An 18-story, technologically advanced Class A tower with column-free floors. Co-GP with Walton Street Capital. NAIOP Chicago Office Development of the Year, 1998
Developer · Development Resources
1998 – 1999
Retail · Wisconsin
$50M
Ventura Partners, d/b/a Kirkwood Partners LLC. Seven ground-up retail centers in Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie, including a single-tenant Best Buy, each 95–100% leased at sale
Lenders: Johnson Bank · Associated Bank
Developer · Fully realized
2000 – 2015
Hospitality · Resort
$450M
Full capital stack for a Ritz-Carlton-branded luxury ski resort
Capital structuring
Ventura Investments
Senior housing · California
$39M
235-bed senior living community in Hayward, acquired by Kayne Anderson Real Estate
Buyer representation
2019
Land · Kenosha, Wisconsin
100 acres
Land acquisition for Petra, LLC. About 20 acres sold to Continental Properties in 2026 for 336 apartments
Lender: Wintrust · sourced
Sourced by Gene J. Ventura, founder of Ventura Capital Ai
2024 – 2026
Completed transactions in which Gene J. Ventura and his firms took part, in the roles shown. Shown for historical purposes only; not an offer of any security. Firms named are not affiliated with and do not endorse Ventura Capital Ai.
Past results are not indicative of future results.
Private opportunities
From time to time we share private development and value-add offerings with qualified investors we know, in line with securities laws. Here is how you get in the room.
Investment banking
Gene’s investment banker is Riccardo Ricci of Ricci Capital Partners in Newport Beach, California.
Ricci Capital Partners describes itself as an independent investment advisory firm specializing in private placement. It arranges business and real estate financing from $250,000 to $50 million, including commercial real estate, bridge, construction and development, acquisition, mezzanine and private credit.
Ricci Capital Partners and Ventura Capital Ai are independent companies. According to Ricci Capital Partners’ website, brokerage products and services are offered through Enclave Capital LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC. Ventura Capital Ai is not a registered broker-dealer or investment adviser and is not affiliated with Enclave Capital LLC.
Nothing on this website is an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Check the background of any firm or financial professional on FINRA BrokerCheck. Read the full disclosure.
The author
Gene’s memoir, written as James G. Ventura, was released January 1, 2026. The sequel, Pull Me Close, Punish Me Hard, arrives January 2027.
Giving back
We are proud to support Wounded Warrior Project and the veterans, service members and families it serves. Please join us.
Donations go directly to Wounded Warrior Project through its own website. Ventura Capital Ai is not affiliated with Wounded Warrior Project.