Sam Zell

In 1969 Sam Zell started Equity Group Investments, which today invests in energy, logistics, transportation, manufacturing, communications and healthcare.Zell's Equity International has invested in 15 emerging markets including Argentina, where it's co-investing $300 million with Goldman Sachs.The forefather of modern real estate investment trusts, Zell chairs five public companies, including the nation's largest apartment REIT.His $39 billion sale of office REIT Equity Office to Blackstone just before the market crashed in 2007 was among the largest real estate deals ever. Around the same time, he led an $8.2 billion buyout of newspaper owner Tribune Company, which quickly went bankrupt.