Don’t depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you are confident that your interests align with theirs. - Sam Zell

First, the key to our prior success had been an inefficient market. The real estate industry had always been fragmented, with valuations and projections that often varied widely.

Some emerging markets will check all the boxes — strong population growth, growing middle class, verge of investment grade, great leadership, and hunger for capital — and then be missing the one ingredient that enables you to monetize your investment: scale. Without scale, you don’t have liquidity. You have no optionality. In essence, you’re stuck. Africa is a great example. I think many countries, such as Botswana, have potential, but the upper and middle classes are too small for me to get involved. Chile is another example. It has the institutions and leadership, but only 17 million people — no scale.

didn’t know it then, but this phase in my career was the genesis of a mantra I would repeat regularly for decades to come: Liquidity equals value.