Watch: How Andrew Farkas grew a billion-dollar business

Real estate is all about whom you know, from the biggest builders to the top brokers. TRD knows them all. And now we’re sitting down with the biggest names in the business to understand how they climbed the ladder — or made their own.

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Andrew Farkas couldn’t tell you off the top of his head how many companies he’s CEO of. Needless to say, there are quite a few.

Between 1990 and 2003, the billionaire grew one of companies, Insignia Financial Group, from buying distressed apartments in South Carolina to owning the likes of Douglas Elliman and the Edward S. Gordon Company, two of the nation’s largest brokerages.

Farkas sold IFG for hundreds of millions of dollars in 2003 and opened the merchant bank Island Capital Group. ICG hasn’t exactly been a retirement gig; the company is a parent to NAI Global, C-III Partners, IGY Marinas, and even launched a SPAC last spring.

How does Farkas manage it all? Watch the Master Class for an inside look.