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RIP — Sam Zell


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Sam Zell, billionaire real estate investor, dies 

PUBLISHED THU, MAY 18 202311:21 AM EDTUPDATED AN HOUR AGO
The Associated Press
 

Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments.

Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC 

Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate magnate who earned a multibillion-dollar fortune and a reputation as “the grave dancer” for his ability to revive moribund properties has died due to complications from a recent illness. He was 81.

Bearded and blunt-spoken, Zell reveled in bucking traditional wisdom. He had a golden touch with real estate, and got his start managing apartment buildings as a college student. By the time he reached his 70s, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $3.8 billion.

 

 

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“Sam Zell was a self-made, visionary entrepreneur. He launched and grew hundreds of companies during his 60-plus-year career and created countless jobs. Although his investments spanned industries across the globe, he was most widely recognized for his critical role in creating the modern real estate investment trust, which today is a more than $4 trillion industry,” Equity Group Investments said in a written statement on Thursday.

Zell died at home, the company said.

Zell is survived by his wife, Helen; his sister Julie Baskes and her husband, Roger Baskes; his sister Leah Zell; his three children, Kellie Zell and son-in-law Scott Peppet, Matthew Zell, and JoAnn Zell; and his nine grandchildren.

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I saw him a podcast a few days ago.  Sad to hear he passed.  I really enjoyed his book and I always appreciate seeing a lawyer who did something besides work at a law firm and made it big.  Norm Brodsky is another person who graduated law school and instantly realized that this law thing is for the birds, and looked at the clients with the nice suits and big houses and said "hey! how do I do what you guys are doing?" 

 

He was involved in some other things besides real estate, like manufacturing, and did well in pretty much everything he got involved with except when he bought a newspaper. It reminds me of that Buffett quote about when a great manager gets involved with a terrible business, it's usually the reputation of the business that remains intact. There's a YouTube video out there of him responding to a rude Tribune employee at an all hands meeting with the F bomb.  

 

He was everyone's wise grumpy uncle.  RIP Sam 😪

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