Categories: BusinessWorld

Billionaire real estate investor Sam Zell dies at 81

 Billionaire real estate investor Sam Zell has died at the age of 81 due to complications from a recent illness, according to statements from the two real estate investment trusts (REITs) that he chaired.

Known for his bets on distressed assets and for popularizing the REIT structure in the 1990s, Zell founded the company that was a precursor to Equity Residential and took it public in 1993.

The Chicago property czar also invested in a wide range of businesses including manufacturing, travel, retail, healthcare and energy through Equity Group Investments, the private investment firm that he founded more than 50 years ago.

Zell had a net worth of $5.2 billion, according to Forbes. In 2007,he sold Equity Office Properties to Blackstone Inc for $39 billion in one of the largest real estate deals ever.

Soon after, he took media giant Tribune Co private in an $8.2 billion highly leveraged deal that saddled the company with too much debt.

Tribune filed for bankruptcy protection a year later during the global financial crisis after advertising revenue tumbled as more readers began getting their news online.

Zell had famously dubbed the acquisition a “deal from hell”.

Source : Reuters

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND FINANCE MAGAZINE

Recent Posts

Taiwan plans $13bln in extra energy spending given high global prices

Taiwan has not passed on most of the rising costs to consumers, and it heavily…

17 hours ago

AI adoption stalls as companies struggle to scale projects despite strong returns, study shows

Only 13% of companies were on track with their AI initiatives, as regulatory ​hurdles and…

17 hours ago

European regulators need more powers to police crypto, watchdog says

The European Securities and Markets Authority said on Wednesday that European regulators should be given…

17 hours ago

Oil dips as recovering Gulf exports ease supply fears, US-Iran diplomacy in focus

Oil prices fell 1% on Thursday as recovering crude exports from the Gulf and a…

17 hours ago

Training novices to think in the age of large language models

Whether teaching a cognitive skill remains valuable in this era of AI is a crucial…

18 hours ago

Global imbalances and the China challenge

China's trade surplus is widening, its manufactured exports are surging, and the political backlash is…

18 hours ago