No Grave Dancing for Sam Zell Now. He’s Paying Up for Hot Properties
Sam Zell, who made a fortune buying distressed commercial properties, isn’t finding many bargains these days.
Instead, the storied real-estate investor is doing something he usually avoids: following the pack and spending big on something safer.
His most notable real estate deal during the coronavirus pandemic period came last month, when one of his companies agreed to pay about $3.4 billion for Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. Far from a hobbled company in distress, Monmouth owns 120 industrial properties in 31 states. The sector is one of the most profitable because of high demand for fulfillment centers from e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc.