Sam Zell Named Decade’s Industry Icon

NEW YORK- Through the ups and downs of the past decade, those in the real estate industry have looked up to no one more than billionaire investor Sam Zell.

In a runaway, Zell, who is chairman of Equity Residential, took the top prize in the “Top 10 Living Industry Icon” survey conducted by Globest.com in connection with its 10^th anniversary with an astonishing 79% of respondents giving him the nod. Finishing at number two was Gerald Hines, the founder and chairman of Hines, at 41%. He bested Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of Boston Properties, by a single vote.

In the past 10 years, Zell’s deals have garnered national and international attention, including his $36-billion sale of his Equity Office Properties firm to the Blackstone Group.

The rest of the living icons were: television personality and real estate investor Donald Trump (No. 4); John Cushman, chairman of Cushman & Wakefield (No. 5); Robert S. Taubman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers Inc. (No. 6); Milton Cooper, chairman of Kimco Realty Corp. (No. 7); Ethan Penner, president of CBRE Capital Partners (No. 8); Julien Studley, founder of Julien J. Studley Inc., and CEO of Studley New Vista Associates, (No. 9); and Jerry Speyer, founding partner of Tishman Speyer Properties (No. 10).

Survey respondents praised Zell’s acumen for business and real estate investment, with one real estate executive noting that Zell has “great vision” and is a “reasonable risk taker.” Another simply said of the chairman and co-founder of Chicago-based Equity Group Investments, “He’s done it all.”

The fourth place finisher drew both praise and criticism from several survey respondents who selected him as the top industry icon, including one who characterized Trump as “cocky, borderline arrogant, but brilliant.”

Tomorrow: Look for the results of the Globest.com survey "Industry Newsmakers."