Barry Sternlicht

Starwood Property Trust performed solidly last year, deploying $12.7 billion in capital — its second-highest annual investment total in 16 years — and taking advantage of asset prices resetting following the pandemic-induced frenzy.

The real estate investment trust in 2025 generated $412 million in net income, $52 million more than the previous year, although. Its assets under management grew to a record $30.7 billion, with commercial real estate loans accounting for just over half of its portfolio.

Despite the growth, redemption issues remain. Since 2024, the non-traded REIT has been limiting the number of investors, who can yank their money out of the vehicle. In April 2026, it announced that it would be halting redemptions, again, to avoid selling at bottom prices.

“We recognize this decision may be frustrating for some shareholders,” Sternlicht wrote in the letter announcing the move. “However, taking this step now allows us to preserve the opportunity to realize better outcomes as market conditions improve.”

Still, the company made big moves to beef up and diversify its balance sheet with steady cash flow, buying triple-net lease owner and operator Fundamental Income Properties for $2.2 billion in July. The 12 million-square-foot portfolio includes 467 fully occupied properties in various sectors, with an average remaining lease term of 17 years.

Barry Sternlich and Starwood Capital Group are returning to their former glory, literally. After a decade under the ownership of Marriott International, Starwood Capital Group brought back the entity that had harbored the Starwood Hotels name. Today, the portfolio includes 14 hotels in major cities such as London, Nashville, Seattle and Tokyo, and marquee brands like 1 Hotels, Baccarat Hotels and Treehouse Hotels.

“I’m kind of like a singer having one song,” Sternlich told The New York Times in January 2025. “I want to have two songs.”

Starwood is looking toward the future as well, financing data centers powering AI infrastructure. Alongside J.P Morgan Chase, Starwood Property Trust provided a $2 billion construction loan for a 100-acre data center facility in West Jordan, Utah, last year, making it one of the largest construction loans issued in 2025. This year, Starwood Capital Group partnered with Mara Holdings to convert the Bitcoin miner’s existing sites into infrastructure for AI uses and other cloud services.