Who is Derek Kaplan?
Derek is a Zimbabwean-born British painter, but he is best known to the world as the husband of the real estate broker Fredrik Eklund.
Derek Kaplan Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Derek Kaplan was born on 20 February 1975 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He hasn’t revealed the names of his parents and their vocation, and whether he has any siblings or not.
He grew up in his hometown, and became infatuated with the landscapes of Southern Africa. While in high school, he started painting to kill time, and his teachers noticed his talents. They encouraged him to pursue painting, but after high school, he enrolled at St. Georges College, from which he graduated with a degree in banking.
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Career
Before becoming a praised artist, Derek worked in London for several years in the banking industry; for more than 14 years, he neglected his desire to become a professional painter.
He eventually left his day job and started creating art. He relocated to New York, feeling he would have more opportunities there, and where he opened his first gallery.
Gradually, he was becoming more popular, and in 2013, he had his first solo exhibition at the Couture Gallery Contemporary Art Space in Stockholm, Sweden.
As he was becoming more popular, he started exhibiting his work in galleries throughout New York and selling them through his website.
Net Worth
As of late 2022, Derek Kaplan’s wealth is estimated at $1 million, earned largely through his career as a painter. He also does commissions through his website, which contributed to his wealth, in addition to selling pictures through exhibitions.
How Derek and Fredrik Eklund Met? Popularity Through Marriage
Derek and Fredrik met while both were vacationing in Greece in 2010, which would change their lives forever. Derek met the love of his life just a week after he came to Greece, and the two spent the entire vacation together exploring Greek islands by car and boat.
They married almost three years later, on 9 February 2013, on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys. Once their marriage was made public, Derek became even more popular, thanks to his husband’s success. Moreover, he appeared in the reality TV series “Million Dollar Listing New York” (2015).
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Son from Previous Relationship, Children with Fredrik Eklund
Before meeting Fredrik, Derek had already contributed his sperm to a lesbian couple from London who helped him get a son, Kai Kaplan. However, his child doesn’t live with Derek and his husband Fredrik, but he tends to visit him in London and spend quality time with him.
With Fredrik, he is the father of twins, a boy Fredrik Eklund Jr. and a daughter, Milla Eklund. The duo welcomed their twins through surrogacy in 2017.
Two years prior, they tried surrogacy for the first time; however, the mother suffered a miscarriage. Although stricken with great sadness, Derek and Fredrik didn’t give up on their dream of having children together, and the second time was the charm.
The couple resides in a lavish six-bedroom Beverly Hills home, Los Angeles, California USA, with their twins.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
Derek Kaplan has light brown hair and green eyes. He stands at 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, while his weight and other vital statistics are unknown, though he has an athletic figure.
Derek Kaplan’s Husband, Fredrik Eklund Short Bio
Fredrik Eklund was born on 26 April 1977 in Akalla, Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Klas Eklund, an economist and writer who worked as a senior economist at the Swedish bank SEB, and Jannike Wenke.
Fredrik’s older brother is Sigge Eklund, a Swedish novelist, producer, and screenwriter. Fredrik moved to Edina, Minnesota, for high school as a foreign exchange student, and went to Edina High School. He returned to Stockholm after matriculating, and enrolled at the Stockholm School of Economics, however, he left before finishing his studies.
When he was 23 years old, Fredrik launched his business career by founding an internet company, Humany.com, which at some point had over 40 employees. Moreover, he worked for the financial magazine Finanstidningen.
However, he later found employment with the investment SEB bank in his hometown. As his career in banking progressed, he worked at several business centers in the world, including London, Tokyo, Singapore and New York.
Before setting foot in New York City, Fredrik was also a pornographic actor, and appeared in several adult films under the pseudonym Tag Eriksson. When asked about his experience, he said that he was proud of who he is and not ashamed of anything he has done in his life. Moreover, he said that it was only a short period of his life, and that he quickly decided that it wasn’t for him.
After this short experience, Eklund launched his real estate brokerage career. He started CORE Group Marketing in 2006, of which he serves as managing director, learning the business and honing his skills.
After three years at CORE Group, Fredrik started EKLUND STOCKHOLM NEW YORK real estate brokerage company, which has since become the most high-end residential real estate brokerage in Scandinavia.
Moreover, he joined his business partner, John Gomes, at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the largest real estate brokerage on the East Coast. Within Douglas Elliman, Eklund launched a real estate selling team. Since then, he’s closed sales of more than $5 billion, becoming one of the most successful real estate brokers.
To speak further of his accomplishments, Fredrik is a motivational speaker and is a regular at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau.
#mdlla premiers sept 2nd on @BravoTV and yes that’s me smirking pic.twitter.com/NSgz1mvOWT
— Fredrik Eklund (@FredrikEklundNY) August 9, 2021
Thanks to his success, Fredrik was named one of the cast in the reality TV series “Million Dollar Listing New York”, which follows the lives of five real estate agents in New York. His co-stars included Ryan Serhant, Steve Gold and Luis D. Ortiz among others.
He left the show in 2021, only to join “Million Dollar Listings Los Angeles” for its 13th season, after which he left the entire franchise.
Most recently, he made his acting debut as Rexford Blake in an episode of the TV procedural crime-drama series “NCIS: Los Angeles” (2022).
Moreover, Fredrik is a published author; his debut non-fiction book “The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone” was published in 2015.
Net Worth
As of late 2022, Fredrik Eklund’s net worth is estimated at $30 million, earned largely through his prolific career as a real estate broker.
Fredrik Eklund has blue eyes and light brown hair. He stands at 6ft 4ins (1.95m) tall, and weighs about 185lbs (85kgs). His vital statistics are unknown, but he has an athletic build.
Eklund is known for his charitable work along with his husband Derek, as the two have worked with Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children, My Big Day, and Ali Forney Center, through which he helps LGBT homeless youth in the USA.
