Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, a fierce opponent of rent control, raked in an astounding $610.5 million from dividends and compensation last year, according to Reuters. Blackstone Group, the private equity firm co-founded and led by Schwarzman, …
Tangled Web: Gavin Newsom, Ace Smith, California Apartment Association, and the Billionaires Who Love Them
Billionaires Stephen Schwarzman and Sam Zell must love Gov. Gavin Newsom, political consultant Ace Smith, and the California Apartment Association right now. After all, Newsom, Smith, and the CAA were key players in killing two …
EXCLUSIVE: The Big Real Estate Executives Who Are Calling the Shots to Stop Prop 21
On Thursday, July 16, a little before noon, Essex Property Trust executive John Eudy sent an email to his deep-pocketed colleagues in the real estate industry, asking for campaign contributions — $100 per apartment — …
Multi-Millionaire Landlord Tod Spieker Wants to Kill Proposition 21
Many years ago, at UCLA, Richard “Tod” Spieker was an All-America swimmer, whose legacy was enshrined when the school’s state-of-the-art aquatics center was named after him. Today, in 2020, Spieker, a multi-millionaire landlord in Palo …
As the Pandemic Rages On, Billionaire Jackie Safier Wants To Demolish A Rent-Controlled Building in Berkeley
Natalie Logusch and her neighbors have lived in their 111-year-old, Colonial Revival apartment building in downtown Berkeley for years. They are middle- and working-class people who can only afford to live in the city because …
Modern-Day Robber Baron: The Sins of Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
Housing Is A Human Right presents another special report about the power players responsible for the housing affordability crisis. For this investigation, we examine Blackstone Group CEO and billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, one of the largest …
Will the Corporate Greed of Essex Property Trust CEO Mike Schall Destroy California?
For Essex Property Trust CEO Mike Schall, it’s all about the money — no matter who gets hurt. Slamming seniors with huge rent increases and forcing them out of their homes is a standard way …
Coronavirus Forces Politicians to Address Housing Affordability and Homelessness Crises
For years, activists and experts have been saying, repeatedly, that housing is not only a human right, but also a serious public health issue. That people need stable, affordable housing to maintain good health — …
Big Real Estate Gears Up to Stop Rental Affordability Act
A year away from Election Day, the real estate industry is already gearing up for a pitched battle against the housing justice movement in California. Heavyweights Essex Property Trust, the California Apartment Association, and Equity …
State Sen. Scott Wiener Keeps Rolling In Real Estate Campaign Cash
California State Sen. Scott Wiener continues to roll in campaign cash from Big Real Estate. Housing Is A Human Right examined Wiener’s 2020 re-election campaign contributions between February and June of 2019, finding that he …