Jason Strauss

Jason Strauss (born April 7, 1974)^[1] is an American businessman and developer who is the co-CEO of Tao Group Hospitality, a restaurant and nightlife conglomerate in which he co-founded with his childhood friend, Noah Tepperberg.^[2]

Jason Strauss
Born	(1974-04-07) April 7, 1974 (age 51) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Boston University
Occupation(s)	Nightclub and restaurant owner
Known for	Co-CEO of Tao Group Hospitality

Early life

Strauss was born in 1974, grew up in Manhattan, and attended Riverdale Country School in The Bronx.^[3][4] He met Noah Tepperberg at a homecoming party thrown by Strauss.^[5] The two became friends and had a mutual interest in throwing parties. The two started doing prom parties and college parties before entering the nightclub scene. Strauss graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications and hospitality management in 1997.^[6]

Career

Strauss moved back to New York City and in 1997 formed a special events, public relations, and marketing company known as Strategic Group whose clients included PlayStation and Coca-Cola.^[7] In 2003, he started the Marquee nightclub in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood with Tepperberg. The nightclub quickly grew to host over 1,200 guests a night and began Strauss' full time career in the nightclub hospitality business.^[8] He, Marc Packer and Rich Wolf, who owned Tao Asian Bistro New York nightclub, and Tepperberg partnered to open a new nightclub known as Tao Asian Bistro Las Vegas inside the Venetian in 2005. This project turned out to be the biggest success of his career. Tao Group Hospitality was formed in 2009 to operate his and Tepperberg's properties. He has hosted some of the world's most famous celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Paris Hilton, Swizz Beats, and Jho Low, the latter was charged with money laundering.^[9][10]

Tao Group Hospitality now runs over 80 locations across the world and it acquired the Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan in 2021, further expanding its catalog of restaurants.^[11][12] Strauss still plays an active role in running the Tao locations, specifically the Las Vegas location, while he and the other founders hold a collective 33% share in the company as of 2025.^[13]

Personal life

In 2005, Strauss was in a relationship with Rachel Uchitel who was a VIP hostess at Tao Asian Bistro in Las Vegas.^[14] He currently resides in Las Vegas.^[15]

In November 2023, he and Tepperberg helped raise over $1 million for Israel through the United Hatzalah Emergency Relief Fund, following the Hamas attack the month prior and said, "the hospitality industry is all about bringing people together. It’s what we do".^[16]