Sam Zell, a renowned real estate investor who amassed billions by buying up commercial properties in need of repair, has reportedly passed away at the age of 81.
In addition to being recognized with popularizing real estate investment trusts, Zell was occasionally referred to as a “grave dancer” because of his propensity for buying perturbed properties.
The Chicago-based investor purchased a number of foreclosed office buildings in the 1990s at substantial discounts before selling the majority of them in 2007 as part of a $39 billion deal with Equity Office Properties to the private equity firm Blackstone Group BX, +0.23%, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2021.
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Here’s all you need to know about Sam Zell-
Sam Zell net worth-
According to Forbes, Zell’s projected net worth is $5.3 billion.
Sam Zell age-
On September 28, 1941, Zell was born in Chicago. He was 81 at the time of his death.
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Sam Zell career–
After graduating, Zell spent one week practicing law before determining that it was not his calling. Zell was able to buy an apartment complex in Toledo because one of the more experienced partners opted to invest alongside him. In addition, Zell bought a number of residences in Reno, Nevada, including Arlington Towers.
Robert H. Lurie, a former business associate of Zell’s, and he co-founded the company that would become Equity Group Investments in 1968. Together, they continued to expand the little business into a big conglomerate up until Lurie’s passing in 1990.
The Blackstone Group stated in 2006 that it would pay $36 billion to acquire Equity Office, making it the largest leveraged buyout in history at the time. The properties in the portfolio were then sold by Blackstone for record prices. Most of the sold properties were “under water” (worth less than the mortgage) by the beginning of 2009.
More than 400 trailer parks are owned by Equity Lifestyle Properties, which has come under fire for how it treats its renters.
Sam Zell relationships-
Three children were born to Zell throughout his three marriages and two divorces: a biological daughter, Kellie, and two adopted children, Matthew and JoAnn, from his first marriage, and an adopted son, Matthew, from his second marriage. Helen Fadim Zell, formerly Herzog, is his third wife. He has residences in Malibu, California; Sun Valley, Idaho, and Chicago, Illinois.
Sam Zell family-
His father had been a prosperous grain trader in Poland when his parents, Ruchla and Berek Zielonka, immigrated as Jews. They traveled from Tokyo to the United States with their young daughter Leah. His parents quickly changed their names to Rochelle and Bernard Zell after arriving. After that, they relocated from Seattle to Chicago’s Albany Park area, where his father started working as a jewelry distributor.
