Real Estate Titans

Chapter 7Robert Faith

¹Greystar, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Real estate is an entrepreneurial business

When it comes to southern hospitality, there is no greater example than Robert Faith—a man who dresses casually for work and runs an office with few walls, smiling often and allowing his team at Greystar to collaborate in a fun and effective environment.

Originally destined to follow his father’s footsteps to become a petroleum engineer, Bob Faith’s path took a hard-left turn over 30 years ago, as he went on to create one of the world’s largest rental housing investment, development, and management groups.

With his freshly printed engineering diploma in hand, he entered a job market with no opportunities (due to the recession of the early 1980s). Like many young entrepreneurs, he decided to quickly exit the job market and continue his education: the perfect way to avoid the recession.

He went to Harvard Business School. After graduating with his MBA, Bob was able to find work at one of the largest property development firms in the country, Trammell Crow, which had a penchant for hiring fresh MBAs from elite business schools around the country and throwing them to the wolves. The great would rise to the top, while the merely good ones would sink to the bottom.

At the time, Trammell Crow was cleaning up the disaster left behind by the savings and loan scandal, which had ...