Sam Zell is a U.S.-born, self-made billionaire and real estate entrepreneur. He is co-founder and Chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm. A consummate deal-maker, Zell is invested in or controls a diverse array of companies, including the most successful builder of low-cost housing in Mexico (Homex), the largest U.S. waste-to-energy company (Covanta), and the world’s largest distributor of telecommunications and cabling products (Anixter). In early 2007, Zell orchestrated what was at that time the largest leveraged buyout in history–the sale of his flagship Equity Office Properties REIT to the Blackstone private equity group for $39 Billion. Also in 2007, Zell purchased the Tribune Company–publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times and owner of the Chicago Cubs–in another leveraged deal. Please join us for a conversation about entrepreneurship in this uncertain economy.
A reception will follow.