The Discipline of Betting Against the Crowd — Bill McMorrow, CEO of Kennedy Wilson
It is a long-cycle account of how one real estate manager entered markets others were avoiding and built institutional partnerships along the way, including a reported $20 billion in joint ventures that began with a conversation at a Berkshire Hathaway meeting. Useful context for allocators thinking about real estate managers, contrarian entry points and long-held investor relationships.
Summary
By the real estate & infrastructure deskBill McMorrow, CEO of Kennedy Wilson, talks with Brandon Sedloff about building the firm from a $57,000 real estate auction company in 1988 into a global investment manager with nearly $38 billion in assets. He traces the relationships and cycle-timing decisions behind that growth, including expansion into Japan in the 1990s, moves into Ireland and the UK after the Great Recession, and multifamily buying when regional banks pulled back in 2023. The episode closes on why he now concentrates on housing in the US, Ireland and the UK, and on focus, patience and contrarian bets.
- Kennedy Wilson grew from a $57,000 real estate auction company in 1988 to a firm managing nearly $38 billion in assets.
- McMorrow describes opportunities identified in Japan in the 1990s and in Ireland and the UK following the Great Recession.
- A half-hour conversation at a Berkshire Hathaway meeting led to $20 billion in joint ventures over sixteen years, per the episode.
- He explains why he now focuses exclusively on housing across the US, Ireland and the UK after having owned every asset type.
Chapters
From the publisher’s description| Time | Chapter | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | 3 min | |
| Bill McMorrow's early life and formative years | 3 min | |
| Banking career and move to Philadelphia | 3 min | |
| Acquiring Kennedy Wilson in 1988 | 2 min | |
| Expanding to Japan in the 1990s | 1 min | |
| The Great Recession and meeting Prem Watsa | 3 min | |
| Kennedy Wilson's culture and growth to $38 billion | 2 min | |
| Growing up in a family of nine | 6 min | |
| Building relationships with foreign investors | 2 min | |
| The Ireland opportunity and Bank of Ireland deal | 7 min | |
| Kennedy Wilson's business model today | 1 min | |
| Focus on housing and recent acquisitions | 8 min | |
| Staying focused and tuning out the noise | 5 min | |
| The importance of starting the journey | 1 min | |
| Taking chances and betting against the crowd | 2 min | |
| Looking ahead: opportunities and strategy | 7 min | |
| Closing thoughts | 3 min |
Similar items
Same topic Solving the Operational Challenges of Private Markets | Ep. 43 | FTFranklin Templeton |
 Anthropic Might Be Proving the AI Bears Wrong | CRThe Compound (Ritholtz Wealth) |
 Laura Hines-Pierce on Growth Infrastructure and the Global Real Asset Landscape | HiHines |
 The Signal Roundtable: The Future of Digital Assets | MSMorgan Stanley |
 Semiconductor Investing Beyond the AI Boom | Portfolio Manager Insights | FIFidelity Institutional |
Get the weekly 3 to watch
Free, in the Morning BriefEvery week the Morning Brief picks three videos and podcasts worth your time, with why each one matters.
Free. Every morning. Unsubscribe from any edition in one click.
Videos and podcasts are embedded from their publishers. Selections and summaries are editorial and are not investment advice.