The $40 billion real estate tycoon has his son earned an MBA, worked elsewhere, appeared for 13 years, and rose to rank to prove he is not a Nepotism employment

Argentinian-American entrepreneur first launched Related Groups In 1979, they built everything from affordable housing to gorgeous skyscrapers in cities like Fort Lauderdale in Las Vegas and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. With a $40 billion development portfolio, the real estate empire has built over 120,000 homes over the past 40 years, with over $50 billion in real estate on sale so far. Perez has been committed to defending the Florida landscape as the “condo king of Miami” by building housing projects integrated with art and culture.

After helmed, Perez was ready to hand over the torch to his sons John Paul and Nick, but he didn’t make it easy for them. To avoid his company’s good hands and claims of nepotism, the 75-year-old billionaire sent his children on the quest: he obtained an MBA, worked for competitors for five years, and rose the ranks for over ten years. The inheritance process has grown for approximately 18 years.

“What I didn’t want was for the people in the company, especially when I felt they were able to work with John Paul, when I felt they were able to work for the company, what I didn’t want was for the people in the company to feel they were entitled. luck.

John Paul became the company’s CEO in March, and Nick is the president of the apartment division of the related group. Jorge now offers wisdom to his sons and wisdom to his sons, but they are coming aside to lead the company. The plan was fully curated to make the transition as smooth, drama-free and advantageous as possible, Jorge says.

“What I’m very conscious about is to let the world know that my two sons are ready for those jobs. The company didn’t suffer from a single IOTA during the transition, but it’s actually going to get better,” says Jorge. “They still have 45 or 50 years of experience in real estate, but now they have new blood with new ideas and know that the younger market is better than the age of 75.”

Prove yourself with MBA, external experience, 13 years of corporate climbing

While most children in a successful family might expect to be handed over the company keys, Jorge wanted John Paul and Nick to cut their teeth in the real estate world.

“I demanded that each of them work for five years at the company with what they like, and they both went to New York,” says Jorge. “Additionally, I wanted them to be well prepared for education, so I let them do another two years to get their MBA.”

John Paul set out on his journey to CEO in 2007 when he started as an analyst for an affiliate company, a New York-based real estate company owned by family friend Stephen Ross. Until 2022, Ross also owned minority shareholders in Perez’s business. During John Paul’s five-year stint, he worked on luxury rentals and condos at Hudson Yards and Time Warner Center. When development slowed in 2008, he worked to buy and close hundreds of projects. Bruce Beal Jr., president of the affiliate, has become John Paul’s mentor.

“I was put in a very high environment for 12-14 hours a day. A lot of technical funds, financial underwriting,” says John Paul. “It was a really good time for me as long as I understand the economic aspects of business.

By 2012, John Paul had finally stepped into the doors of related groups. Starting with a rental group, he rose through class for the next 13 years, learning within and exits in business. While working in a family business, he received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. One of the top The US business programme took on the role of executive as president when the Covid-19 hit and the team was quarantined in the home office, and eventually took over leadership in 2020.

“Even when they came here, they would look at both sides of the company as they first became the assistant manager of the project and then the project manager,” Jorge says. “He then started running the business day to day. I no longer needed to be CEO and I felt there was more decisions.”

Jorge felt that through this strict and progressive succession plan, John Paul acquired the stripe and that the senior team had proved that his sons could lead the relevant groups. The real estate founders also tracked public sentiment and ensured that they made the transition without hurting the business.

“People always tried to avoid thinking about it, ‘Are you nervous? You have big shoes to fill.’ “It was never the case, ‘You come here, you get it automatically.’ It was a gradual thing, and I was able to grow and at the same time gained the respect of the people in the company. ”

Avoid potential clutter in inheritance plans

When planning family inheritance, it is one of trying to calm tensions in the public and boardrooms, but it can become another fight at home. Jorge says he saw other businesses get caught up in family drama, but confirmed that there were no arguments with the related groups.

“You talk to many friends who have problems. Many of them have turned their inheritance (family) into enemies in contrast to friends and family members divided on top of them.

Jorge says, “Some people can’t let go.” Especially when you build a company from scratch, as you did with the relevant group. As a father, it’s natural to want to ignore the advice of parents to help children pave their way. He says inheritance is give and take. His young son may not have overcome the market slump or the company’s crisis, but there is still time for them to lead. Maintaining that balance was key to the Perez family maintaining healthy family dynamics.

“These tensions happen. We were very fortunate to be able to avoid all of them,” Jorge says. “Some of them say, ‘Wow, he has 45 years of experience.’ And he said, “Hey, this has to be a collaborative effort.