Suggested books for reading in REPE

What are everyone's suggested reads for books on REPE?

Would be great to get some recommendations other than the usual suspects (The Real Estate Game, Art of the Deal). For instance, has anyone read the book on Gerry Hines?

I'll start - my favourite read this year was Zeckendorf: the autobiography of William Zeckendorf.

7 Comments
 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
WSO Monkey Bot

Hi Luca Brasi, the silence is deafening, sorry about that.... Any of the threads below helpful?

^Well WSO Monkey Bot, interesting recommendation! 

Anyway... I'll add the following books:

- What It Takes - Stephen Schwarzman

- Am I Being Too Subtle - Sam Zell

- Barbarians At The Gate - Bryan Burrough

- King of Capital - David Carey

 
Most Helpful

It was good read (honestly, I read right when it came out years ago, so not top of memory). But, it was still mild compared to a Sam Zell talk at a conference. If you ever get to see him speak in person, I recommend it. First time I saw him wasn't long after the whole 08-GFC meltdown (maybe this was in 09 if I remember right), and he described the whole situation as a monkey driving a bus while jacking off and thus driving the bus into a ditch (this is a poor paraphrase, but you get the idea). Then I saw him a few years ago at a fireside chat in NYC where he was asked about hiring woman in real estate (this is when #MeToo was front and center), and responded with something about "getting more P-word on the block" (I think this went viral on YouTube). Thus, his edited (likely ghost written book) can't stand up to Zell himself, but it is really worth reading. 

If you want highly entertaining, watch the movie of Barbarians at the Gate (I think it is on YouTube, or at least it was at some point). It's from the early 90s and is hilarious and actually informative (it was an HBO docu-drama). Book is totally worth reading as is far more detailed, but movie is just awesome. 

 

Barbarians at the Gate, also Den of Thieves is great too more finance in NYC in the 80s.

 

Voluptatibus odit optio voluptatem perferendis aliquid. Nisi consequatur sed nobis voluptatem. Non natus illo aut cumque enim hic quas. Officiis dolorem officia ab accusantium quod. Molestias excepturi inventore veritatis quisquam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”