NexGen Leader: David Ruttenberg
David is part of Bisnow's Ascent community of up-and-coming commercial real estate leaders. The top developers and investors under the age of 40 descend on the Ritz Carlton in South Beach Nov. 2-4. See who's attending and apply to be considered for one of the few remaining spots here.
Job title: Partner, Marc Realty Residential.
What that means: Principal, acquisitions and finance (With the occasional peacocking, above)
What your company does: Invest in opportunistic and value-add real estate.
Memorable project: 2300 S Michigan. With no outside partners, we bought the 94-unit property for $18M all-in (converting condos to apartments) from Starwood and sold for $25M. It’s one of very few deals we’ve sold; we mostly buy, stabilize, and finance. But it’s good to sometimes sell and solidify the values of our other assets.
Hometown: Highland Park.
School: Tufts for undergrad, the London School of Economics for a Master’s in real estate economics and finance.
First job: Taught tennis in high school at North Shore Racquet Club.
First CRE job: Worked for six months for a small developer, then started a fund in ’06 with Danny Sobelman (currently at Barnett Capital). We raised $4.25M from friends and family and got everyone’s capital back with a small return. It was a pretty big accomplishment given we were investing at the peak in ’06 and ’07.
Job in another life: Pro golfer. You can travel the world, hang out in warm climates with nice scenery, and get paid a lot of money for not doing any work. (Editor’s note: David doesn’t even golf.)
Greatest fear: A rapid increase in interest rates without a corresponding increase in real estate fundamentals. Also being asked a question I can’t answer.
Person (living or dead) to meet: My wife’s grandfather Solomon Blum, whom we named our son after. He was a Holocaust survivor who started from nothing and became a prominent real estate investor in Kansas City thanks to hard work, savviness, and intelligence.
Daily habit: Showering.
Favorite musician: Michael Bublé.
Favorite book: The Economist.
Favorite movie: Billy Madison.
Favorite vacations: Costa Rica, Lake Como, Capetown.
Favorite restaurant: Tocco in Wicker Park.
Bucket list: Go to the French Open and Wimbledon.
Family facts: Wife Jessica, three-year-old Sol, and one-year-old Sasha. The kids were born on Sept. 18 and 20, respectively, and just had a joint birthday party.
Domestic chore you’re good at: Making reservations. Sometimes I Windex the table.
Hobbies: Tennis (he was the team captain at Tufts), working out, staying active.
Startling fact: I’ve never read a book cover-to-cover.
