Recorded in front of an audience at a ULI Young Leaders event in Los Angeles, Matt sat down with Ricardo Pagan, Founder and CEO of Claridge Properties, a 100% minority-owned real estate investment and development firm.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Ricardo emigrated to the U.S. when he was nine and is now a self-made entrepreneur in real estate under the age of 40. His path to success is different than other leaders featured on this podcast.

Ricardo never attended a four-year college and started buying houses in his late teens and developing properties in his 20s. This eventually led to developing institutional deals, like the historic Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and 4-acre Brooklyn waterfront deal in Greenpoint. He is part of a partnership selected by the Los Angeles City Council to acquire and develop the coveted Angels Landing site, a $1.2 billion project that will eventually be the largest residential tower west of the Mississippi River.

Throughout his career, he has completed well over $1 Billion in acquisitions and development of assets in New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, and Phoenix encompassing well over 3,500 residential units and over 500,000 SF of office space.