Patrick Hanlon (clockwise from top left), Evan Linkner, Jason Krane, and Russell Schildkraut.
Patrick Hanlon, Jason Krane, Evan Linkner and Russell Schildkraut
Principals at Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group
Last year's rank: 32
The Ackman-Ziff team saw total transaction volume of $3.7 billion in 2024, including $3.1 billion of debt and subordinated debt, and $550 million of joint venture equity, sales and other transactions.
Sixty-eight percent of this was focused on multifamily, a sector the company embraces with great enthusiasm.
“There’s a tremendous supply/demand imbalance in the housing market, no matter the economy, which indicates to us that multifamily has continued to be strong,” said Russell Schildkraut, who heard much excitement for the sector during a recent road show.
“I just finished two days of meetings, and all the investors say they’re highly focused on two things: multifamily, including SFR and BTR, and industrial,” said Schildkraut, referring to single-family rentals and built-to-rent houses. “That continues to be what people are looking for.”
Industrial constitutes a smaller percentage of the overall picture for Ackman-Ziff. Industrial — hotel and land combine for 11 percent of its activity, with retail at 15 percent and office at 6 percent — but Schildkraut finds it continues to be a heavily desired sector despite some uncertainty.
“That one’s a little more complicated,” said Schildkraut, “because people are trying to figure out the impact of tariffs. But the general view is that as long as there is onshoring, there will be a need and demand for industrial.”
Notable transactions Ackman-Ziff closed in 2024 included a $425 million single-family rental aggregation facility, a $245 million multifamily permanent financing, and a $190 million national programmatic alternative energy joint venture.
The company is also beginning to play in the solar and data center spaces, which Schildkraut notes are generating attractive yields with less competition.
All of which bodes for a prosperous 2025.
“Ackman-Ziff has always managed to navigate the markets,” said Schildkraut. “We’ve always found our spots and we’ve always done well, and I don’t see any difference this year.”
