He once acknowledged riding his motorcycle as fast as 145 mph on a trip across the South American pampas. Zell loved risk, both in his business dealings and his personal life. He also encouraged institutional investors to pool their money for commercial real estate in the early ’90s when it was on the outs. Zell’s reputation grew, and in 1976 the contrarian investor talked about his penchant for spotting and pursuing opportunities in an article that he entitled “The Grave Dancer.” The nickname stuck.Īfter the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, Zell went on a buying spree of real estate properties. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in 1999 with Lurie’s widow, Ann. He later co-founded the Samuel Zell & Robert H. The media giant filed for bankruptcy the following year. It was the largest private equity transaction in history, and Zell personally netted $1 billion.Ī month later, he made another deal that ultimately tarnished his image: the acquisition of the ailing Tribune Co. Zell sold Equity Office, the office-tower company he spent three decades building, to Blackstone Group for $39 billion in 2007. By the time he reached his 70s, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $3.8 billion.
He had a golden touch with real estate, and got his start managing apartment buildings as a college student. Zell died at home due to complications from a recent illness, according to Equity Group Investments, a company he founded in 1968.īearded and blunt-spoken, Zell reveled in bucking traditional wisdom. 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 died on Thursday.
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