In this insightful discussion, legendary real estate investor Sam Zell shares his journey in pioneering the REIT industry and emphasizes the importance of market awareness. At 81, his relentless drive to succeed continues to inspire. Zell delves into the complexities of negotiating high-stakes sales, like his record-breaking $40 billion transaction with Blackstone. He also offers his perspective on current interest rates, advocating for further hikes, and highlights the crucial interplay between liquidity and value in investment decisions.

Sam Zell, Chairman of Equity Group Investments, shares insights as one of the greatest business minds in investing. He emphasizes the importance of ownership and operational control, stating, 'If I can't run it, then I don't want to own it.' Zell reflects on his family's escape from Poland during WWII, highlighting resilience and market dynamics shaped by such experiences. He provides investment wisdom on risk management, the evolution of REITs, and critiques modern business models, offering predictions for the future of the real estate market.

Every so often, I share my thoughts on investing on the other side of the mic. And occasionally, those ideas are different from what I’ve shared in the past. Recently, I appeared on the Opto Sessions Interviews with Extraordinary Investors podcast hosted by Haydn Brain. Opto identifies key themes and ideas to help investors get exposure to structural growth trends through a daily newsletter, magazine, and podcast. Hadyn asked me some great questions that cover the difference in retail and institutional investing, aspects of my professional experience, insights from my conversations with Sam Zell, Joel Greenblatt, Chamath Palihapitiya, Mike Novogratz, and Dan Rasmussen, investing for the long-term, and reflections on the Buffett Bet. Learn More  Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn  Subscribe to the mailing list  Access Transcript with Premium Membership  Show Notes (3:11) Capital Allocators Mission (5:53) Ted’s background (10:16) Outperformance in the GFC (13:25) Insights in first book (16:40) Making Capital Allocators a success (19:41) Importance of contrarianism (23:26) Conviction for retail investors (29:54) Views on Buffett (35:02) Understanding digital assets (39:40) Themes for the next ten years (42:00) Thinking for the long-term (45:29) Summary of Ted’s bet (54:20) Closing questions