Greatest Minds In Commercial Real Estate

Donald Bren of the Irvine Company. He's tackled almost every asset type (Master planned communities, SFR development, apartments, retail, office, hotels, marinas, distressed debt, land conservation, and even still owns a cash flowing orange grove in Irvine behind Orchard Hills). Pretty cool story about how he and a consortium of investors such as Henry Ford's grandson and Alfred Taubman bought the Irvine Ranch from the Irvine Family. It was originally a Spanish land grant. He eventually wrangled for control and emerged as the sole 100% owner of the Irvine Company. He's done some great things with their retail stuff as of late. He sold off some stuff in the 70s/80s and employed very strategic use of deed-restrictions to create artificial supply constraints for certain asset types in Irvine. Ultimately this has made everyone win. I guess it goes back into the masterplanning thing.

Rick Caruso is also one of the best minds in "hospitality" real estate. He's a cross product guy but each of his properties is focused on offering the best experience for the end user whether that be a shopper, a hotel guest, or a working professional in one of their office projects. It's really a hospitality business at its core. Check out their concierge stuff they offer.