America's richest real estate billionaire in 2023

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Commercial real estate met with difficulties after the pandemic

Many workers avoided offices and retail space remained vacant. However, Forbes' analysis of America's 400 richest people shows that U.S. real estate moguls have still continued to increase their fortunes over the past year despite these challenges. On the Forbes 400 list for 2023, 25 billionaires earned their fortunes mostly through real estate.

The rental and industrial real estate sector

The billionaires in the rental and industrial real estate sector made more profits as national rents rose nearly 3 percent in the last year and the blossoming of e-commerce allowed warehouse and logistics facility owners to thrive.

Real estate tycoons with challenges

There has been less luck for real estate moguls like Donald Trump, who failed to make the Forbes 400 list for the second time in three years, and Related Companies founder Stephen Ross, whose fortune has shrunk by about $1.5 billion in the past year (though he remains one of the richest real estate moguls today).

The richest real estate billionaire in the U.S.

The richest real estate billionaire in the U.S. this year is Donald Bren, owner of Irvine Company Development Corporation, whose fortune has grown from $17.4 billion in 2022 to about $18 billion.

Bren's real estate empire

The Bren Real Estate Empire, through Irvine Companies, includes more than 129 million square feet of office buildings, apartments and commercialThe Irvine Company sold two hotels in Orange County in 2022 for about $300 million and will set aside $30 million to renovate its 300 North LaSalle office tower in Chicago.

Other real estate moguls

Ross moved into real estate development after working as a tax attorney when he founded Related Companies in 1972. The company began by focusing on affordable housing, but has also been involved in several upscale projects, including Hudson Yards. Related is also working to expand its presence in South Florida and is the largest commercial real estate owner in West Palm Beach.

Stern founded Hartz Mountain Industries, a company with large industrial properties in metro New York, as well as in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and the Carolinas.

Olenikov, who grew up in the Soviet Union and ran away with his family as a teenager, is the founder of Olen Properties, which owns more than 17,000 residential units in eight states in the Southwest and Southeast.

Green discovered a gold mine buying credit default swaps on bonds backed by subprime mortgages during the housing market crisis in 2007 and 2008, earning $800 million.

The Majestic Realty Co. development company, based in Los Angeles, was founded by Roski Jr.'s father, Edward Roski Sr. in 1948.

Lerner and her three daughters, Mark, Debra and Marla, inherited the fortune of her late husband, Ted Lerner, after his death in February.

Blum owns a gaming and real estate empire stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, including the 700,000-square-foot Century City Center office tower in Los Angeles.

Sobrato began investing in real estate while still a student at Santa Clara University, then moved on to developing industrial properties with his mother, eventuallyThe company is the largest apartment manager and developer of multifamily real estate in the country with more than $240 billion in assets worldwide.