100 Million Dollars...Can real estate really produce this?

[Geoffrey Murphy]

Hey Guys,

So i was reading a really interesting article on FORBES the other day, and it was about how many of these real estate TYCOONS did over there careers.

The interview/articles featured people such Sam Zell, Eli Broad, Stephen Ross, Jorge Perez ect

And the article was about how these guys built HUGE real estate companies over there careers, and how they almost lost it all, good times and bad times ect...

It was very interesting because these guys were all talking about the kinds of deals they were doing, how things were when they first started out ect

Now, my question is;

IS REAL ESTATE REALLY PRODUCING THESE GUYS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CASH FLOW IN A MONTH, EVEN POSSIBLY YEARS?

I know this may sound like a silly question, but i really wonder...

WHAT SEPARATES THOSE GUYS FROM US (OF COURSE $$$) BUT HOW IS IT THAT THESE GUYS ARE ABLE TO BUILD THESE MASSIVE NETWORTHS???

Contacts, family wealth, luck

Im really excited about hearing some of the feedback BP!

[Rich Weese]

Geoffrey- the answer is absolutely yes! As one of the older people here on BP I've been able to see quite a few amazing things during my real estate career. I hope I don't get blasted for this e-mail, but it does require a little in the way of explaining what I was doing in real estate and what level I had reached in the late 1970s.

As a previous poster had said a lot depends on timing and location and I have always stated that was of the utmost importance in my real estate career. My early years were spent in orange county just a short drive down the freeway from Los Angeles. It was relatively easy in that era to make money in real estate and I've often stated that here on BP and also in my book. There were lots of opportunities that don't exist now. You could buy homes with relatively little down payment and you could assume FHA and VA loans that others had taken out at very little down payment. It was easy to buy a home with four or 5000 down and see your money double or triple in value due to the high inflation rate in less than a year. At one time I was watching my money double in less than a year. It does require more time in my opinion for your money to double when you have a great deal of it. The options become fewer.

My net worth grew to not quite $10 million at its highest point in the 1970s and early 80s. My health was failing, my weight was in the stratosphere, and I was told by a physician that I would definitely become the richest man in the graveyard. At the time I had four children and would later have two more children. As others have stated on this post some people become workaholics and spend 24/7 doing just real estate or other ventures.

The reason I started this post in this manner was I want to tell you about an individual that definitely has accomplished this. Many of you will recognize the name Jerry Buss. This gentleman died recently I believe that the age of 80. An incident that became very impressionable on my mind occurred in 1979. This individual who had started with literally $1000 and purchased into an apartment building had just closed a transaction to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for $67.5 million. Not only did he get the team, but he also got the basketball stadium known as the forum in Inglewood California. The team was not worth the amount he paid at the time. I believe at the time, the forum was the most expensive piece of real estate that he had purchased but I could be wrong on that fact. What I do know, is that he continued to make the Lakers a name brand which was recently listed by Forbes magazine having a value of $1 billion! I believe the article said that the net income was roughly $50 million annually and remember, sports teams have very unique ways of showing little in the way of income with all of the tax write offs available to them.

This gentleman died recently with a supposedly value of $600 million. The reason I mentioned this incident, was I found myself at a crossroads. I could either continue to work 24/7 in real estate and continue to double my net worth at most likely a slower pace but still very possible. I was telling myself that if I could continue to double my net worth approximately 3 more times, I would be in position to buy a team like the Los Angeles Lakers. I don't know whether it ever would've been possible, but I do feel that I would've lost my family and possibly my life due to being in such poor physical shape. I did make the decision that money was not that important and shortly after that I moved my family to southern Oregon to basically retire. There were enough funds to live on but I would never become Jerry Buss.

I sometimes wonder what life would have looked like if I had chosen to continue at the pace I was on providing I didn't die from obesity! I guess I would have to admit, sometimes it has been interesting to think what might have been. There are many examples of people that are literally receiving millions of dollars annually or even monthly that oh their well-being to real estate. Jerry Buss is just one example. Rich