Sam Zell had interests in and was the chairman of several public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange: Equity Residential, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Equity Commonwealth, and Covanta Holding Corp.
21 Facts About Sam Zell
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In 1963, Sam Zell graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
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Sam Zell managed a 15-unit apartment building in return for free room-and-board.
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Sam Zell purchased several apartment buildings in Reno, Nevada, including Arlington Towers.
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In 1968, Zell founded the predecessor of Equity Group Investments and was joined a year later by his former partner, Robert H Lurie.
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Sam Zell affiliates owned the Schwinn Bicycle Company, the drugstore Revco, department store chain Broadway Stores, energy company Santa Fe Energy Resources, and mattress company Sealy.
7.
Sam Zell was sold to Clear Channel Communications in 1999.
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On December 20,2007, Sam Zell took the company private, and the following day he became the chairman and CEO.
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Sam Zell sold the Chicago Cubs and the company's 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
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In January 2008, Sam Zell bought a controlling share in the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune, among other newspapers.
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Less than a year after Sam Zell bought the company, it tipped into bankruptcy, listing $7.6 billion in assets against a debt of $13 billion, making it the largest bankruptcy in the history of the American media industry.
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Sam Zell's donations include a $3.1 million donation to the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center in Israel and separate donations to the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress, a free market oriented Israeli think tank founded by Daniel Doron.
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Sam Zell donated $100,000 to Restore Our Future, the Super PAC supporting the 2012 presidential election campaign of Mitt Romney.
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Sam Zell was known for using "salty" language in the newsroom.
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Sam Zell is a force of a nature; the rest of us are bound by the normal conventions of society.
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In 2008, Sam Zell confirmed a plan to place the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field up for sale separately in order to maximize profits.
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Sam Zell announced he would consider selling naming rights to Wrigley Field.
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In June 2018, at a conference organized by Nareit, Sam Zell stated "I don't think there's ever been a 'We gotta get more pussy on the block'" when explaining his views of female discrimination on the workplace.
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Sam Zell married three times and divorced twice; he had three children: son, Matthew and daughter, JoAnn, from his first marriage; and an adopted daughter, Kellie, from his second marriage.
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Sam Zell lived in Chicago, Illinois, and had homes in Sun Valley, Idaho and Malibu, California.
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Sam Zell died on May 18,2023, at the age of 81 after a short illness.