Alice Mason

Alice Mason (October 26, 1923 – January 4, 2024) was an American real estate broker, socialite, and political fundraiser. According to The New York Times she became one of the most powerful real estate brokers in Manhattan and was known as "the person you called if you couldn’t get past the [ co-op] board." According to the New York Social Diary, her work "eventually changed the rules in high-end Manhattan co-ops, forever." The Real Deal called her "legendary".

Her dinner parties, held at least six times a year from 1962 to 2000, were prominent in Manhattan's social scene. In 1996 the Times called her "the hostess of the hour".

In 1999, a book by Lawrence Otis Graham, Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, outed her as passing for white.

Early life and education Mason was born Alice Christmas to Lawrence Duke Christmas, a dentist, and Alice Meyers Christmas, a prominent African-American couple in Philadelphia, on October 26, 1923.

Real estate career After moving to Manhattan in 1952, Mason, then Alice Christmas, decided to change her name to Alice F. Mason and pass for white. She helped the couple find an Upper East Side penthouse and recognized the business opportunity in helping similar buyers navigate co-op boards.

In her memoir she described her strategy as "[making] a study of the establishment to figure out how to outwit them.”

Mason moved into a large rent-stabilized apartment on East 72nd in 1962, and she began giving dinner parties, which were prominent social events. In 1984 she was the cover story of the first issue of Manhattan, inc. magazine.

In 1996 The New York Times, referencing her dinner parties, called her "the hostess of the hour".

Political fundraising By the 1970s Mason developed an interest in political fundraising. She raised $252,000 for Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential race, the largest amount by any single fundraiser, and $1.5 million for Bill Clinton's 1992 race.

Lawrence in 2006 told an audience that he hadn't realized at the time he'd written the book that his book was outing Mason.