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Scott Rechler
Chairman and CEO at RXR Realty
Scott Rechler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RXR, a prominent real estate and infrastructure company in the New York metropolitan area. With an impressive asset value of $21.8 billion, RXR manages a vast portfolio of commercial properties and multi-family residential units, aiming to enhance communities and foster growth. Scott believes in the symbiotic relationship between RXR's success and the well-being of the broader community. He has a rich background in leadership roles, previously serving as Vice Chairman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and later on the Board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In 2021, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Beyond his duties at RXR, Scott is actively involved in various organizations, holding positions such as Chair of the Regional Plan Association, trustee at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and member of several prestigious boards like the Real Estate Board of New York, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and many others. Scott is an alumnus of Clark University and the New York University Schack Institute.
Highlights
In August 2009, right after the Great Financial Crisis, RXR re-entered the New York City office market by investing approximately $4.5 billion over three years, ultimately making two times on the invested capital.
Why? Because we have always believed that with crisis comes opportunity. By remaining clear-eyed and keeping a finger on the pulse of what’s taking place on the ground, as opposed to just relying on the headlines, we were able to look through the fog of uncertainty and act with conviction.
Earlier this year, we announced a $500 million joint venture with Ares to invest in high-quality New York City office buildings with broken capital structures. As Warren Buffet once said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
It was good to join the Squawk Box team this morning and share my thoughts on the state of commercial real estate. Last year, the industry experienced its own version of the five stages of grief - from Denial to Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally, in 2024, to Acceptance. Owners and lenders are recognizing that property values aren’t bouncing back, and underlying capital structures formed in an era of free money are fundamentally broken.
And so now, as lenders, borrowers, and investors reset the value of their holdings, it sets the stage for transaction activity that will ultimately lead to the rebalancing and re-equitization of the commercial real estate industry. 2024 will begin the long, arduous process of recalibrating, recapitalizing, and, ultimately, recovering.
