I really think we have a good chance to do this deal,” said Ivanka Trump with a glamorous smile, slowly tilting her head toward me.

I was surprised. I had begun to wonder what she could possibly see in these rejections that I didn't. I was sweating profusely, in this majestically decorated office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower, feeling somewhat out of my league. Myriad investors had turned us down. How would a deal possibly come together at this point?

I was not optimistic. A small frustration had grown into an overwhelming sense of apathy, and I was ready to throw in the towel. In my mind it was just too tough to make this deal happen. No matter what our proposal was or how much we were willing to add in value, the investment groups we were negotiating with did not want to go ahead.

Faced by her surprising enthusiasm and confidence, I wondered if there was something I had missed. It became obvious that Ivanka had a different mindset. It would be months before the idea dawned on me that she had the mindset of a Real Estate Titan.

Thanks to her many qualities—among them a powerful mindset, an impressive work ethic, clarity, and resourcefulness—she was indeed able to convince several investors, a few weeks later, to proceed with the investment.

It was summer 2010, and I had just been shown up. I witnessed in person the big leagues of the real estate world. This experience fueled my passion for real estate even more. I decided it was time to embark on a quest.

My Quest to Meet the World's Real Estate Titans

Fresh out of college, I joined a large New York investment banking firm. I guess the partners were motivated by my perseverance and diplomacy, something my father, who made his career as an ambassador, had instilled in me from a young age.

Whether through luck or fortune, I was assigned a position with the real estate group. Just a few short days later, a colleague handed me a real estate textbook with a light blue cover: Real Estate Finance and Investments: Risks and Opportunities by Dr. Peter Linneman.¹ That book sparked my love affair with real estate that continues to this day. It equipped me with a strong financial real estate base and the technical terms necessary to navigate the demanding moments of institutional real estate investing.

But not until I worked for Ivanka Trump did I truly commit myself to learning from “the greats” in this field. What inspired these Titans to work so hard and reach such extraordinary levels of success? What are the main traits that propel them to such great achievements? How have these individuals succeeded on a much bigger scale than so many of their competitors? I would get the answers by seeking out these great men and women and by doing my utmost to meet with them personally. It took me a decade.

My quest would bring me into contact with real estate Titans such as Richard Ziman, Richard Mack, Ronald Terwilliger, Chaim Katzman, Elie Horn, Joseph Sitt, Urs Ledermann, Donald Trump and children, Carlos Betancourt, Ronnie Chan, Barry Sternlicht, Sam Zell, Steven Roth, Jonathan Grey, Stephen Ross, David Simon, and others.

“Waking up every day and loving what you do has a direct impact on your quality of life and on the bottom line of your business,” the Real Estate Titan Urs Lederman once told me. Richard Mack shared this me: “Knowing the downside of any deal is far more important than knowing the upside.” Sam Zell taught me that good risk managers “will never fall in love with the assets or companies they own.”

Little did I know that over the span of a decade the hundreds of insights gained from these luminaries would lead me to develop more than 12 million square feet of real estate and be involved in real estates deals totaling more than $3.5 billion throughout Mexico, the United States, and Brazil.

On a trip with a real estate mastermind group in Los Angeles—I now run these get-togethers once a year—one of my real estate billionaire friends said: “Hey Erez, I think you should write a book about real estate. Like, you know, to share the tips you've picked up along the way from the best real estate investors in the world. Few people have had these types of experiences …”

“That's not a bad idea,” I said, mulling it over.

“I could call it Real Estate Titans.”

Making Real Estate Wisdom Go Viral

In Greek mythology the Titans were a race of gods. One of the Titans, Prometheus, decided to help the human race by handing them the gift of fire and teaching them to use it. In a similar way, the Titans in this book have decided to share significant real estate wisdom with you.

I have two goals with this book. The first is to impress upon you—through the many stories and lessons shared by these modern-day Titans—that real estate is a wonderful and important business.

Wonderful because in my opinion there is no more intriguing, exciting, fun, and rewarding field in which to make a career. For example, you can change the way a city, district, neighborhood, or street looks like and operates. You can create beautifully designed spaces in which people live, work, and play. You can work with cities to create jobs and build new infrastructure. You can create an investment vehicle and take it public. You can raise an institutional fund and invest it in different geographies. You can interact and work with all kinds of people from different ethnicities, religions, nationalities, and academic backgrounds. You can see the world. The possibilities are endless.

In real estate, there are unlimited points of entry. It is the ultimate field for entrepreneurs. You don't need substantial capital to start; you just need to be resourceful. You can access financing. You can access friends and family money. You can use other people's money. You can be in this business owning one property or a thousand.

Important because every person on the planet is exposed to real estate every moment of every day: Real estate is a part of our everyday life, and it plays an integral role in our economy. Historically, real estate is also the greatest source of wealth and savings for most families around the world. According to several professors, in the last few centuries more fortunes have been made in this asset class than in any other.

Real estate is also the largest asset class in the world. According to Savills,² an international real estate brokerage and advisory firm, the value of global real estate as of 2017 is US$228 trillion (see Figure I.1). This exceeds—by almost a third—the total value of all globally traded equities and securitized debt instruments, which points to the important role that real estate plays in any economy around the world. To add additional perspective on this colossal number, the value of global real estate is 2.8 times higher than the world's total annual income (Gross Domestic Product, or GDP).³

My second goal is for you to become a savvier real estate player by learning from the best in the world. Years ago, one of my mentors taught me that the best way to achieve success is go find the best in the world, in whatever field it is you want to pursue, and model them. This is what I have attempted to do in this book. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, simply find the best and learn from them as much as you can. Throughout this publication, you will find intriguing stories and lessons of real estate entrepreneurs with impeccable advice about what to do—and not to do—in real estate.

You will also find 7 key lessons that I extrapolated from these interviews. These lessons include key traits and characteristics I've noticed in each Real Estate Titan I have worked for and interviewed, as well as critical elements of their strategies for success.

If you implement these 7 key lessons in your real estate business—and do the exercises at the end of each lesson—you will see your sales increase and the value of your real estate company take off in a matter of months. The growth will be like nothing you've ever experienced, and once the momentum starts, it will be hard to stop.

Enjoy your journey with the Real Estate Titans!