Andrew Witkoff
The son of real-estate developer Steve Witkoff who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 at age 22. His father named the Las Vegas Drew resort for him; it was shelved during the pandemic and reopened as the Fontainebleau.
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- Country
- United States
- Known for
- Son of developer Steve Witkoff; died in 2011 at age 22; the Drew Las Vegas resort was named for him
- Family
- Son of Steven and Lauren Jill Rappoport Witkoff; brothers Zachary and Alexander
- Death
- 2011, age 22, OxyContin overdose at a now-closed sober-living facility in California
- Memorial
- Drew Las Vegas (2018–2021), the Fontainebleau tower project his father renamed for him, later reopened as Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Andrew Witkoff is the young man whose name briefly stood on a Las Vegas Strip tower — and was then taken down. No standalone public profile of him exists; he appears in the record only through what his death set in motion. The documented facts are few and are stated here without embellishment.
The name on the tower
In the summer of 2017, developer Steve Witkoff and partners bought the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas high-rise from Carl Icahn for $600 million — Icahn had acquired it in 2010 for around $150 million (Las Vegas Review-Journal). In early 2018, Witkoff and Marriott International announced the resort’s new name, Drew Las Vegas, with Edition and JW Marriott brands planned for the property. The Review-Journal reported the fact plainly: Witkoff named it for his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 at age 22 (Las Vegas Review-Journal).
Witkoff gave the memorial its own terms in a 2019 interview: “Our development in Las Vegas is named after our son Andrew who died. So this is to us a legacy project and a passion project. It’s going to allow us to do some wonderful and positive things for the community, for kids in distress. And we’re creating what could be 13,000 jobs… It’s a $3 billion dollar project, so we have to let our partners know that we are focused on it and it’s going to get our total attention” (GlobeSt).
The project did not survive the pandemic as the Drew. In January 2020 Witkoff said he was close to securing a roughly $2 billion construction loan; in March he suspended construction as Las Vegas shut down over the coronavirus outbreak, and contractors later filed tens of millions of dollars in liens over unpaid bills (Las Vegas Review-Journal). In early 2021 the tower’s original developer, Jeffrey Soffer, teamed with Koch Industries’ real-estate arm to reacquire the property for $350 million through a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The new owners renamed it Fontainebleau Las Vegas in the fall of 2021, and it opened on December 13, 2023, under its original name — the Drew name gone from the building (Las Vegas Review-Journal).
The documented facts of a death
Andrew Witkoff died in 2011 at age 22 of an OxyContin overdose at the now-closed Sunset Plaza Drive sober-living facility in California (Hindustan Times). His parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the facility, alleging that its negligence allowed their son to obtain the drugs (Hindustan Times). The Real Estate Board of New York marked his passing with a death notice published in the New York Times on August 17, 2011: “The governors, members and staff of the Real Estate Board of New York mourn the passing of Andrew Witkoff, son of former REBNY Governor Steven Witkoff. We express our heartfelt condolences to Steve and his wife Lauren, their sons Alex and Zachary and the entire Witkoff family” (legacy.com). His mother is Lauren Jill Rappoport; his brothers are Zach and Alexander Witkoff (Hindustan Times).
How the loss surfaces publicly
After Andrew’s death, Steve Witkoff became an advocate for addiction awareness and recovery efforts, and he addressed the issue in his speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention (Hindustan Times).
A 2025 Jerusalem Post profile captured how the grief follows him into his diplomatic work. “I’m a member of a terrible club,” Witkoff told hostage families, “parents who lost a child” — and he described visiting New Montefiore Cemetery to spend time with Andrew. When freed hostage Edan Alexander came home, Witkoff took the Magen David that had hung on Andrew’s chest and placed it around the young man’s neck (The Jerusalem Post). The same profile records the phone call after Andrew’s death, when a hospital asked about organ donation: “I had never fainted before… Today, I would have donated. Back then, I did not” (The Jerusalem Post).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not give Andrew Witkoff’s birth date or the exact date of his death — neither appeared in a fully-read source. It does not resolve the facility’s name beyond what the fully-read account reported, and it does not state the outcome of the wrongful-death lawsuit, which is unverified. It does not recount his schooling, friends, or private life; no fully-read source documents them. The characterization of the Drew as a “legacy project” is his father’s own framing, presented here as such. Nothing in this profile is a comment on the cause of his death beyond the documented facts.
Timeline
- 2011
- Andrew Witkoff dies at age 22 of an OxyContin overdose; the Real Estate Board of New York's death notice appears in the New York Times on August 17.
- 2017
- Steve Witkoff and partners buy the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas tower from Carl Icahn for $600 million.
- 2018
- Witkoff and Marriott announce the project as Drew Las Vegas, with Edition and JW Marriott brands, named for his late son Andrew.
- 2020
- Construction of the Drew is suspended in March as Las Vegas shuts down over the coronavirus outbreak; contractor liens follow.
- 2021
- Jeffrey Soffer and Koch Industries' real-estate arm reacquire the property for $350 million through a deed in lieu of foreclosure; it is renamed Fontainebleau Las Vegas in the fall.
- 2023
- The former Drew opens as Fontainebleau Las Vegas on December 13, under the resort's original name.
- 2024
- Steve Witkoff addresses addiction awareness in his speech at the Republican National Convention.
- 2025
- A Jerusalem Post profile records Witkoff's cemetery visits, the Magen David placed on freed hostage Edan Alexander, and the organ-donation call after Andrew's death.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Andrew Witkoff's exact birth date and exact date of death did not appear in a full-read source; this profile states only that he died in 2011 at age 22.
- One fully-read article names the facility as the now-closed Sunset Plaza Drive sober-living facility; a separate Hindustan Times article (not read in full) calls it One80 Center. This profile uses the full-read version and does not resolve the discrepancy.
- The wrongful-death lawsuit his parents filed is documented as filed; its outcome is unverified and not stated here.
Sources
5 sources (3 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
- Supports: Icahn's ~$150M 2010 purchase and $600M 2017 sale to Witkoff and New Valley; the early-2018 Drew Las Vegas naming with Edition and JW Marriott brands, named for Andrew (OxyContin overdose, 2011, age 22); the January 2020 ~$2B construction-loan statement; the March 2020 construction suspension; contractor liens; the early-2021 Soffer/Koch $350M deed-in-lieu reacquisition; the fall-2021 Fontainebleau rename and December 2023 opening. Open original source
- Supports: "I'm a member of a terrible club," Witkoff told hostage families, "parents who lost a child"; visits to New Montefiore Cemetery; the Magen David that hung on Andrew's chest placed around freed hostage Edan Alexander's neck; the organ-donation call after Andrew's death. Open original source
- Supports: Andrew died at 22 of an OxyContin overdose at the now-closed Sunset Plaza Drive sober-living facility in California; his parents' wrongful-death lawsuit alleging negligence; Steve Witkoff's post-death addiction advocacy and his 2024 RNC speech; mother Lauren Jill Rappoport; brothers Zach (World Liberty Financial) and Alexander (Witkoff Group co-CEO). Open original source
- Supports: Steve Witkoff's own framing of the Drew as named for his son Andrew — "a legacy project and a passion project" for "kids in distress," ~13,000 jobs, "a $3 billion dollar project." Open original source
- Supports: The REBNY death notice only — "Andrew Witkoff, son of former REBNY Governor Steven Witkoff," condolences to "Steve and his wife Lauren, their sons Alex and Zachary," published by the New York Times on Aug. 17, 2011. Open original source
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