Sam Zell’s investments span industries and continents, and
include interests in media, finance, energy, transportation, communications,
and real estate. He maintains substantial interests in, and is
the chairman of, five public companies listed on the New York
Stock Exchange: Equity Residential Properties Trust (EQR), the
largest apartment real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United
States; Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS), an equity real estate
investment trust that owns and operates manufactured home communities
in 26 states; Capital Trust (CT), a specialized real estate finance
company; Covanta Holding Corp. (CVA), an international leader
in converting waste to energy; and Anixter (AXE), a value-add
provider of integrated networking and cabling solutions that support
business information and network infrastructure requirements.
He serves as chairman and chief executive officer of the Tribune
Company, a role which he assumed in December 2007 after financing
the sale of the public company to a private Employee Stock Ownership
Plan (ESOP).
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.
Mr. Zell’s private entrepreneurial investment firm, Equity
Group Investments, was the originator of three of the largest
REITs in the real estate industry. He is also the chairman of
Equity International, a privately held, leading investor in
real estate-related businesses outside of the United States.
Equity International originated the public offerings for four
international companies, in which Mr. Zell maintains substantial
interests: Gafisa, the leading homebuilder in Brazil; BR Malls,
one of the largest shopping center owners and operators in Brazil;
Homex, the fastest growing homebuilder in Mexico; and Xinyuan,
a homebuilding company headquartered in Zhengzhou, China.
He serves on the JPMorgan National Advisory Board; the Eurohypo
International Advisory Board; the President’s Advisory
Board at the University of Michigan; the Visitor’s Committee
at the University of Michigan Law School; and with the combined
efforts of the University of Michigan Business School, he established
the Zell/Lurie Entrepreneurial Center. Mr. Zell’s continual
assistance to Michigan’s MBA program has also enhanced
the Business School’s Polish Studies Program. He was appointed
a DeRoy Visiting Professor in Honors at the College of Literature,
Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan. He is a
long-standing supporter of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton
Real Estate Center, and has endowed the Samuel Zell/Robert Lurie
Real Estate Center at Wharton. Mr. Zell has also endowed the
Northwestern University Center for Risk Management.
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 while an undergraduate at the University
by managing apartment buildings throughout Southeast Michigan.
Mr. Zell is an avid skier, racquetball player and enjoys riding
motorcycles. He is a frequent contributor of articles to various
publications and is often heard as keynote speaker throughout
the United States and Europe.