Risk is the ultimate differentiator. I have always had a deep and complex relationship with it. I am not a reckless person, but taking risks is reall… - Sam Zell

It also opened up new challenges. When you invest in emerging markets, you’re trading the rule of law for growth. If you think you can count on receiving justice in a foreign courtroom, you should think again. So, the first question is always “Who’s your partner?” By that I mean “Who is going to watch your interests on the ground every day?

Zeckendorf’s autobiography was packed with colorful stories, but what fascinated me most was his strategy. Zeckendorf viewed assets as a sum of parts, so he could increase the value of the whole. Various parts were more valuable to different buyers, so Zeckendorf could maximize the value of his holding overall, in effect making 1 + 1 = 3. For example, One Park Avenue in Manhattan, which the marketplace had valued at $10 million, was ultimately worth $15 million in Zeckendorf’s hands. He calculated everything separately — the building’s title, the land, the leases, the individual mortgages. I thought this was brilliant. I adopted the approach both inside and, later, outside of the real estate industry.

Equity Office was the largest REIT in the country. We had spent a decade acquiring an irreplaceable collection of over five hundred of the best office buildings in every major market in the U.S. It was my baby. Truth is, had I kept the company private, I probably would have never considered selling. But when I took EOP public, I assumed a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. In exchange for their capital, I made a commitment to give them the best return possible on their investment. That was my primary obligation. Nothing stood before that.