The 20 Richest Real Estate Agents in the U.S.
Real estate is a lucrative industry for some agents with the talent and skills to make sales. Some of the wealthiest people in the country are real estate agents, brokers, and investors. Wondering how much you can make in the job? Here are 20 of the wealthiest real estate agents in the US for 2022 to give you an idea.
20. Jane Goldman
Net worth: $2.9 billion
Forbes confirms Jane's fortune has decreased by a tenth of a billion dollars over the past year. Still, she remains the 19th wealthiest real estate agent in the USA. Ms. Goldman built a real estate empire in New York. Jane and her siblings own the Solil Management real estate investment company. Jane is a co-owner and the co-chair of the company. The estimated value of the family firm is $6 billion, but Jane goes the extra mile by running the operation.
19. Mortimer Zuckerman
Net worth: $3 billion
Mortimer Zuckerman has had a good year in real estate. He increased his net worth by .4 billion over the past year to $3 billion. Zuckerman served as the CEO and executive chairman of the real estate investment trust Boston Properties. He also co-founded the trust. Zuckerman is also a magazine editor, investor, and media proprietor of Canadian-American heritage. He currently lives in New York, New York.
18. Jeff Sutton
Net worth: $3.1 billion
Jeff Sutton is a real estate developer who partnered with Eliot Tawil to found Wharton Properties. Forbes confirms that Sutton made his massive fortune by purchasing storefronts in Manhattan. He leased them to some of the top designer brands in the world. He owns property on Fifth Avenue and has done well in the real estate business. Jeff has increased his net value by one-tenth of a billion over the past year. Mr. Sutton's current net worth of $3.1 billion makes him the 17th wealthiest real estate agent in the US.
17. H. Ross Perot, Jr.
Net worth: $3.2 billion
Henry Ross Perot Jr earned his fortune in real estate, according to Wikipedia. He resides in Dallas, Texas. He made his money as a real estate developer. H. Ross established an inland port in the Dallas Fort Worth area called Alliance, Texas. It provided ample opportunities for him to build his wealth. Perot flew around the world piloting a helicopter when he was just 23 years old. He's among the top 20 wealthiest real estate agents in the USA. The value of his estate has grown by .7 billion over the past year for a total of $3.2 billion. Perot climbed up the list with his increased wealth.
16. Charles Cohen
Net worth: $3.7 billion
Charles Cohen is a member of the Cohen Brothers film production company. Cohen made his fortune in real estate after buying out his dad's company and taking it over. Charles owns Cohen Brothers Realty, where he earned his living as a real estate agent. Charles went on to purchase Seasense, a luxury yacht. Mr. Cohen is a multifaceted professional who earned billions through various channels. He currently lives in New York, NY.
15. Jerry Speyer
Net Worth: $3.6 billion
Jerry Speyer is a founding partner of Tishman Speyer, a New York real estate company that controls the Rockefeller Center. Mr. Speyer made his fortune in real estate development. He served as chairman of the board of the New York Presbyterian Hospital and also served as the chairman of the board of trustees for the Museum of Modern Art. He currently resides in New York, New York.
14. Herb Simon
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Herbert "Herb" Simon is an American real estate developer. He resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was educated at the City College of New York. He is the owner of the Indiana Pacers, and chairman emeritus of the shopping mall developer Simon Property Group. In 2010, he purchased Kirkus Reviews
14. Donald Sterling
Net worth: $3.9 billion
Forbes reports that Donald T Sterling earned his fortune by purchasing run-down apartment buildings in Los Angeles. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Los Angeles in the Beverly Hills area. He is the owner of the Beverly Hills Hotel and a collection of apartments in Koreatown and more on the Westside of Los Angeles. Mr. Sterling is also an attorney, businessman, and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team. His birth name was Donald Tokowitz. He was born the son of Jewish immigrants, who realized the American dream. He was a self-made successful trial lawyer who turned to real estate as a second career that paid off.
13. Richard LeFrak
Net Worth: $3.9 billion
Richard Le Frak is the CEO and chairman of his family-run company LeFrak. The New York enterprise owns real estate and manages and develops properties in the New York area. Richard and his family have built a multi-billion dollar fortune in real estate. He's one of New York's most prolific landlords in a region enveloping the tri-state area. Mr. LeFrak currently resides in New York, New York.
12. Ted Lerner
Net Worth: $4.2 billion
Last year brought a 6/10 of a billion loss in Ted Lerner's fortune. He remains the 12th wealthiest real estate agent, despite the recent downturn. Lerner is 95 years old and is currently the eldest real estate agent.
Ted bought properties in Washington DC. He leased and sold apartments and office buildings with numerous retail properties in the area. His story starts with a loan of $250 from his wife. He used the borrowed funds to launch a company to sell homes to developers in 1952. He turned it into a $4.2 billion fortune. Ted created a stake in sales, then became a builder and established Lerner Enterprises. He currently resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
11. Rick Caruso
Net Worth: $4.3 billion
Rick Caruso established a solid career in the real estate industry. He is the founder of one of the largest real estate companies in the USA, called Caruso. He's the CEO of his privately held company. He leads the $4.3 billion empire based in Los Angeles, California. He made his fortune in real estate and now plans to run for Mayor of Los Angeles.
10. Jay Paul
Net worth: $4.4 billion
Jay Paul is the founder of Jay Paul Company. He launched the business in San Francisco. It developed a property with a 70-story tower with luxury condos and offices. The firm develops office spaces in San Jose, California, specializing in high-rise buildings. He owns properties in San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Austin, Texas. His privately owned company operates millions of square feet of office space in the high-dollar region of Silicon Valley. His development company builds office spaces it leases to HP, Apple, Amazon, and others.
9. Igor Olenicoff
Net Worth: $4.7 billion
Whippio confirms that Igor Olenicoff has a net worth of $4.7 billion as of August 2022. He immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union. Igor attended the University of Southern California where he studied finance and mathematics. He continued his education earning his MBA. Olenicoff landed a job as an executive at a large company after school but longed to be an entrepreneur. He got his real estate license in 1973 and founded the Olen Properties Corporation. The business opened its doors in California where it grew and prospered, buying properties in suburban and metropolitan areas. Olen moved his business throughout the nation, buying residential and commercial properties in Chicago, Illinois, Nevada, and Florida. The business has since expanded throughout the United States and is one of the most successful, for over 40 years.
8. Edward Roski Jr.
Net Worth: $5.8 billion
Idol Net Worth confirms that Edward Roski Jr. is the 8th wealthiest real estate professional in the country for 2022. He is the leader of Majestic Realty, a company established by his dad in 1948. The firm owns and manages nearly 90 million square feet of residential, retail, office, and industrial real estate in Los Angeles. It also has holdings in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
7. Sam Zell
Net Worth: $6 billion
Sam Zell made his money in real estate and wisely invested his money in other ventures. He owns stakes in a publicly traded company called Equity Lifestyle. The business owns and operates manufactured home communities and RV resorts. He owns a private equity firm called Equity International, with holdings in commercial real estate firm ARG Realty in Argentina. He also owns a stake in Decameron, a Colombian hotel operator. He's one of the most prolific real estate investors in the nation with international holdings. He also has investments in healthcare, logistics, and energy companies.
6. Leonard Stern
Net Worth: $6.2 billion
Leonard Stern earned his fortune as a commercial real estate agent in the New York area. He serves as the CEO and chairman of Hartz Mountain in New York. The company manages over 250 properties on the East Coast. It operates predominantly in the cities of Baltimore, New Jersey, Atlanta, and Charlotte. The portfolio is comprised of suburban properties such as warehouses and a few other types of real estate. Mr. Stern has a net worth of more than $6 billion and currently resides in New York, New York.
5. Neil Bluhm
Net Worth: $6.4 billion
Neil Bluhm is a real estate agent in Chicago Illinois. He prudently purchased retail properties in the rich neighborhood of Gold Coast in Chicago, Illinois. Bluhm also ventured into the sports betting and casino industry. He engaged in a reverse merger with dMY Technology Group. He advanced his business Rush Street Interactive company which went public in the merger. It padded his bank account by $2.4 billion in a single year.
4. Jeff Greene
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Jeff Green is the 4th richest real estate agent in the US as of 2022. He earned his fortune in the Palm Beach, Florida area by buying credit default swaps during the housing crash. He traded on subprime mortgage-backed bonds and made a fortune. Green currently owns 2,500 apartments in Florida and 3,500 in Los Angeles, California. Green also owns 5 homes and 3 buildings in Manhattan. He opened a private school in Palm Beach called the Greene School, with 80 students in attendance. Greene had a keen business sense and purchased a house when still a Harvard MBA student. He rented the rooms and used the proceeds to continue to buy properties, owning 18 by the time he graduated.
3. Stephen Ross
Net Worth: $8.3 billion
Stephen Ross became a professional tax attorney before becoming a developer with an interest in affordable housing. In 1972, he founded Related Companies. The business grew and expanded into a multi-billion dollar enterprise with properties from New York to Florida. Ross also owns a majority stake in the Miami Dolphins NFL team. Additionally, he currently lives in New York, New York.
2. John A. Sobrato
Net Worth: $11.1 billion
Bloomberg reports that John A. Sobrato is one of the richest real estate developers in the USA with a net worth of more than $11 billion. He was just a teenager when he entered Santa Clara University. He sold homes as a real estate agent to help pay his way. The job led to his building a real estate company in Silicon Valley called the Sobrato Organization. His real estate development company has served powerful clients like Netflix, Google, and others. Mr. Sobrato's company owns more than 7.5 million square feet of Silicon Valley office space and operates an investing firm called Sobrato Capital.
1. Donald Bren
Net worth: $16.2 billion
Forbes confirms that Donald Bren's net worth as of August 2022 is $16.2 billion) confirms that Donald Bren is the richest real estate mogul in the USA for 2022. He made the top of the list with a massive fortune of $16.2 billion. Impressively, his wealth increased by almost 2 billion in as many years. The Newport Beach, California billionaire is the owner of more than "126 million square feet of Orange Country real estate." He also owns all but 3% of the stakes in the MetLife Building in Manhattan, 125 apartment complexes, and over 560 office buildings. His Irvine Company also owns over 40 shopping centers, golf courses, hotels, and marinas.
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Written by Allen Lee
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