In this article, I will share the ten most powerful real estate leaders in the world who is the co-founder and CEO of the biggest real estate companies around the globe. Their influence in the market is massive, according to Swanepoel Power 200 research.
It is a residential real estate management consulting and research firm that released its annual list of real estate’s most powerful and influential leaders and executives.
They spent more than 500 hours evaluating many top executives in reputable real estate firms and prepared this list where Gary Keller, the co-founder of Keller Williams Realty, took the top spot by following other top CEOs.
Ten Most Powerful Real Estate Leaders in the World
Last year Zillow Group Co-Founder and CEO Richard Barton took the top spot. But now, recent research says he ranks in the 6th position, and the top spot hitter is Gary Keller. Here is the list and a few details about these real estate leaders.
Table of Contents
1. Gary Keller
Gary Keller is the co-founder of Keller Williams Realty and KWx executive chairman and the best-selling author of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and the One Thing. His company Keller Williams Realty is the largest real estate company in the real estate sector, and he is considered one of the most influential people in real estate.
- Position: Keller Williams Realty co-founder, KWx executive chairman, and best-selling author.
2. Glenn Sanford
Glenn Sanford is chairman and CEO of eXp World Holdings, a real estate cloud brokerage firm around the world that is very attractive for real estate agents to want to make extra money.
Sanford founded the company in 2008 in Washington, and it went public on the Nasdaq in 2018 with revenue of more than $1.8 billion. He also worked at the executive level with a number of internet startups in the 90s.
- Position: eXp Holdings founder and CEO
3. Ryan Schneider
Ryan is the CEO of Realogy. It is a publicly owned real estate services company that owns several real estate brands and brokerages and offers consumer programs, relocation, lead generation, and title settlement services. But recently, Realogy announced that it will change its name from Realogy Holdings to Anywhere Real Estate.
- Position: Realogy Holdings president and CEO
4. Gino Blefari
Gino Blefari is in charge of a no of well-known companies like HomeServices of America, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Real Living Real Estate, and HSF Affiliates. You can imagine how influential he can be.
- Position: HomeServices of America CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices chairman, Real Living Real Estate, and HSF Affiliates executive officer.
5. Robert Reffkin
Robert Reffkin is the founder of Compass. It is a licensed real estate broker that uses the Internet as a marketing medium. The company employs more than 25,000 agents who earn a percentage of the selling price and give a percentage of each commission to Compass.
- Position: Compass co-founder and CEO
6. Richard Barton
Richard Barton is one of the top real estate leaders on this list. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Zillow Group. He founded many companies like a real estate internet company Zillow, a job search site called Glassdoor, an online travel company Expedia, and the online travel photography sharing website and app Trover.
Barton was also a venture partner and is on the board of directors for Netflix, Nextdoor, Avvo, and Artsy. How influential Richard is, you can imagine.
- Position: Zillow Group co-founder and chief executive officer
7. Eric Wu
Eric Wu is the Co-founder and Chief executive officer of Opendoor and was a team member at KPMG, one of the biggest real estate research companies. Opendoor is an online real estate company that buys and sells residential real estate.
- Position: Opendoor co-founder and CEO
8. Glenn Kelman
You may have heard of Redfin. Glenn Kelman is the CEO of that company. It’s a residential real estate brokerage firm that operates in the United States and Canada. Glenn also co-founded and served as the VP of marketing and product management at Plumtree Software.
- Position: Redfin president and CEO
9. Adam Contos
Adam Contos, the former CEO of RE/MAX Holding, stepped down in 2022. Before joining RE/MAX, he ran a SWAT team. He would kick in doors, blow things up, and save people.
RE/MAX Holdings is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchise system. It’s a top real estate brand with 142,000 agents in 8,900 offices in over 110 countries.
- Position: Former RE/MAX CEO
10. Hezen Hanna Casey
Helen Hanna Casey is the Chief Executive Officer of the third-largest real estate company in the United States, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. The company offers one-stop financial services for you all your real estate needs.
- Position: Hanna Holdings CEO
Last Words
So these are the most powerful and influential real estate leaders in the world who almost control the whole real estate market, and you know why. They are in control of the biggest real estate companies in every sector. Gary Keller is the most influential leader of all of them, and that is for a reason. I hope this article has answered your quires. Thanks for reading.
