A millionaire American businessman named Samuel Zell. Former lawyer Zell founded and currently serves as chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment company established in 1968. Several NYSE-listed businesses, including Equity Residential (EQR), Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS), Equity Commonwealth (EQC), Covanta Holding Corp. (CVA), and Anixter, were investments of his, and he also held the positions of chairman of the board.
According to Forbes, Zell’s estimated net worth as of February 2023 is $5.3 billion.
In Chicago, Zell was born on September 28, 1941. His father was a prosperous grain dealer in Poland, and his parents, Ruchla and Berek Zielonka, were Jewish immigrants from Poland. With their small daughter Leah, they traveled from Tokyo to the United States. His parents changed their names to Rochelle and Bernard Zell shortly after he arrived. After that, they relocated from Seattle to Chicago’s Albany Park district, where his father established himself as a wholesale jeweler. He attended Highland Park High School after the family relocated to Highland Park, Illinois, when he was twelve years old. In 1963, Zell earned a BA from the University of Michigan and joined the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.