From $700 to $200 MILLION In Cash: My Favorite RE Developer
Hello, real estate investors! Today I want to introduce you to my favorite real estate developer and my role model: Sam Chang (The Hotel King of New York). His story is certainly very inspiring and certainly motivate me to aim high as well.
What I love about him is he did not started off in real estate by getting a small loan of 1 million dollars from his parent lol; he started off washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant when he was 16 years old (He drop out of high school at 16 years old)
With money he saved from washing dishes, he bought his first small restaurant at age 18. At 23 he own couple restaurants and was very successful. Sold two of his restaurants to use the money to buy his first hotel with owner financing. At 25 he build his first hotel.
Then next couple years, he bought and build 10 hotels.
By the time he was 30 years old the real estate started to decline, and can't find banks to refinance his loans. He over did it and can't not control the debt he had to filed first bankruptcy and his wife also divorce him as well.
Sam Chang is a fighter he never lose, so he got back into the hotel business in 1990s.
He started making phone calls to people he know and started raising capital again to buy foreclosure hotel. He was very successful and bought a lot of hotels.
He over did it again, in 1996 he had to filed another personal bankruptcy again. Lost all his hotel.
In 1997 Sam Chang came back to New York City with last $700 dollars for food and housing.
Well, I don't want to write a book, long story short, he made some more phone calls to raise money to build a hotel in JFK.
That JFK hotel become the steeping stone for him to build and earn the title of "The Hotel King of New York."
You can check out the story in more detail here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkLSx6-rd9I&t=908s
I am very interested in hearing your favorite real estate developer as well or real estate investor or your story of your humble beginning in real estate!