Barry Sternlicht

In Scotland, the word “barry” means good or brilliant — for example, “That’s a barry idea!” It’s fitting, therefore, that the CEO of Starwood Property Group is Barry by name and by nature — with lots of good things to report this year across asset classes. 

While others sat on the sidelines during market bumps this past year, Starwood went on a buying spree, including acquiring 11 master-planned communities in Texas from Hines for $800 million and 38 warehouses from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Dalfen Industrial for $685 million. It’s also been actively decreasing its office exposure with sales that included a two-building Austin office portfolio.

Hotels are in Starwood’s DNA, and this March Starwood subsidiary Starwood Strategic Partners announced an investment in Vana Partners, a mid-stage investment platform focused on extended-stay hotels. The same month, as part of a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts brand — which includes 1 Hotels, Treehouse Hotels and Baccarat Hotels — Starwood announced a rebranding to simply Starwood Hotels, with 40 new properties opening on four continents this year alone.

“Reintroducing the Starwood Hotels name is personally very exciting for me,” Sternlicht said in a release regarding the rebranding. “It’s a tribute to a legacy that millions of people know and trust — and it comes at a decisive moment in our company’s history.” 

During Sternlicht’s time leading Starwood Hotels & Resorts, it became the largest hotel company in the world measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to the same release. 

Back in January 2024, Starwood also launched Starwood Digital Ventures, a platform dedicated to its ongoing data center investment strategy, which at that point totaled $8 billion. As one of the largest privately held data center developers in the U.S., the platform underscored its commitment to the red-hot space that today shows no signs of slowing down. Armed with its expansive knowledge of the niche asset class, in March of this year, Starwood Property Trust and J.P. Morgan provided a $2 billion loan for an AI-focused center in Utah being developed by CIM Group and Novva Data Centers. 

And, closer to home, Sternlicht’s Starwood — together with Fontainebleau Development — announced 1 Homes Jupiter Island, a new development that will feature 26 luxury oceanfront residences in Jupiter, Fla., 30 minutes from Palm Beach and close to where the magic happens at Starwood HQ at 2340 Collins Avenue in Miami.