Mr. Zell is also co-founder and chairman of Equity International, a private investment company focused on real estate-related businesses outside the U.S. He has been particularly active with Equity International’s publicly held portfolio companies, three of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange: Gafisa (GFA), a leading homebuilder in Brazil, Xinyuan (XIN), a fast-growing regional homebuilder in China, and Homex (HXM), Mexico’s leading homebuilder. A fourth, BR Malls, Brazil’s largest retail property owner and operator, is listed on the Bovespa (BZ:BRML3).
Previously, Mr. Zell served as chairman for Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP), the largest office REIT in the U.S. EOP was sold in February 2007 to The Blackstone Group for $39 billion in the largest private equity transaction in history at the time.
A native Chicagoan, Mr. Zell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School. He began his career in real estate as an undergraduate at the University by managing apartment buildings throughout Southeast Michigan. Mr. Zell is a frequent contributor of articles to various publications and is often heard as a keynote speaker throughout the United States and Europe.