March 8: Friday Five Newsletter

• Watch - A lost interview with Sam Zell where he tells the story of why he accepted the offer from Blackstone to sell Equity Office for $39 Billion. Fast forward to 9:10 for the story (only Sam Zell could tell it like this)!

  

• Read - Eric Weatherholtz, aka @Iononrecourse, thread on “how to make serious hay in NNN retail development”

  

• Watch - Stephen Ross discusses his early days as a real estate developer in New York City. I found the discussion of how Ross understood the power of perception early on to be fascinating (at the 12:17 timestamp)

  

• Read - Howard Marks Memo “Easy Money”. Fascinating and mentally stimulating memo on interest rates. Great with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning

  

  Deeper Dive

• Listen - The Fort Interview of Ed Pitoniak, CEO of VICI properties

Ed Pitoniak share everything from his early career in journalism to eventually running VICI properties and the lessons he has learned on the journey

Quick Notes:

• Great placemakers feel everyday is an opportunity to put on a show while simultaneously being terrified of the perishability of inventory (23:00)

• If you reduce any hospitality/leisure business that is place based, it boils down to time and space. You are envisioning, creating and operating the guest experience for time and space (24:00)

• Owning real estate in Las Vegas is the business of “facilitating people coming together”

• The skill of telling meaningful and coherent stories is an extremely valuable skill in life and business

Hope you all have a tremendous weekend!