In emerging markets, a big clue to national stability is whether a country is on the verge of investment-grade rating. Early on, I came to the conclu… - Sam Zell

The third acquisition was a big single-family house. I found an architect, a small local general contractor, and we created a design for four separate units. Then I went to the bank and got loans to do the renovation. I was twenty-three, with a BA in political science. I didn’t know anything about financing. But it never crossed my mind that I might be too young to start an investment business or that I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know any better, but was able to sell the banks on my ability to get it done. Our management company took over the property, did the renovation, and rented the units. The asset did very well.

My big-picture goals were all about creating liquidity by monetizing assets, fund-raising for opportunities on the horizon, and doing great deals.

Up until then, our investment decisions had been based on buying broken companies on the cheap, below replacement cost, and building them from there.