REAL ESTATE ICON RAY WATT CELEBRATES 90TH BIRTHDAY; STILL SEES OPPORTUNITY AHEAD
4/2/2009
REAL ESTATE ICON RAY WATT CELEBRATES 90TH BIRTHDAY;
STILL SEES OPPORTUNITY AHEAD
Santa Monica, Calif. (April 2, 2009)— More than 100 friends and colleagues from the real estate industry traveled to Los Angeles from as far as Italy and Hawaii to pay tribute to Ray Watt on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The luminaries in attendance included executives from some of the largest and most influential real estate companies in the Southern California area. Many of the attendees recalled how Ray’s partnership had launched their careers, while others recounted the immeasurable influence he had on their lives. Ray is an iconic figure in the U.S. real estate industry dating back to 1946, and the founder of Watt Companies, one of the most prominent owners, developers, and managers of residential, commercial and industrial real estate in the United States.
Since starting his development company, Ray has created more than 250 individual partnerships, resulting in the development of thousands of acres of property in the Western United States. Ray has built over 100,000 single family homes, office buildings, mobile home parks, industrial and retail centers. He is still a fixture in the Watt Companies’ office every day, and took a couple of hours off to celebrate his birthday and listen to the accolades shared by friends and colleagues.
A theme throughout the celebration was Ray’s knack for innovation and risk taking. He was among the first in California to develop condominiums and time shares, according to Kenneth Leventhal, founder of Kenneth Leventhal Company. Watt led the way with his lot sales programs, including Bell Canyon and San Diego Country Estates, and also led the merger of development companies into publicly-traded industrial companies.
Ray has steered his business through turbulent times, and he is not shying away from today’s economic downturn. “I’ve managed through 13 down markets,” Ray said. “This one isn’t going to scare me into retirement either.”
Many of the speakers touched on Ray’s ingenuity as a marketer – someone who could see opportunity where others just saw vacant land. Others credited Ray with giving them their start in the real estate business, and teaching them the business from every perspective.
Scott Watt, Ray’s son, and Chairman of the Board of Watt Companies, kicked off the afternoon by welcoming everyone to the event. “We are honored that you are able to be here today to pay tribute to a man that has given back so much to each one of us and to the industry. To many of you he may seem like a father, but to me, he really is.”
Stan Moore, CEO of Moore Overton Properties and a Board Member of Macerich Real Estate Company, continued the speaking portion of the luncheon by recounting how Ray helped him get his start in the real estate business, being hired fresh out of college and put “right into the field.” That meant pulling weeds, if necessary. Stan is forever grateful to Ray for giving him his start and teaching him the business, whether it was learning discipline by attending 5 a.m. meetings or being taught the intricacies of fine tuning a development plan.
Al Borstein, of Borstein Enterprises, spoke about Ray’s steady hand during economic storms. “Ray has always had the vision to sell at the right time,” he said. Borstein joined the company in 1967 and noted Ray’s passion for development. “Ray has vision, and he has never seen a piece of ground he didn’t fall in love with.”
Leventhal applauded Ray for his record as an innovator and risk-taker in the real estate development business. Ray first met Leventhal in 1951. “I realized what a genius he was and have never been involved in a financial venture without his participation,” Ray said.
Leventhal also thanked Ray for giving back to the communities where he does business. Said Leventhal, “Ray has received all the honors the building industry can bestow on one individual” due to his commitment to philanthropy and community investment. Watt is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California.
The common theme of the day, however, was the personal impact Ray has had on the lives of many leaders in the real estate industry. “To say that Ray Watt had an incredible effect on my life is a gross understatement,” said Phil Nicholson, of Cox, Castle and Nicholson LLP. “Ray gave me a chance after law school in 1961 when I started out doing legal work for him and we continued to develop our relationship from there. He made me feel like a part of the team and even the Watt family. He has been my inspiration, teacher and mentor over the years. And I am not the only one - there are hundreds, maybe thousands of others who have had the same experience and felt Ray’s impact on their life. Ray is one-of-a-kind, a great entrepreneur and a highly effective leader, building not only buildings, but people too. He gave us the discipline to help us succeed.”
Joe Davis, who partnered with Watt on Fairbanks Ranch (“the most outstanding land development that Watt has ever done,” according to Ray), remarked that “Ray taught us that nothing stands in our way and you should never stop trying. Always keep plodding forward no matter what adversity you face. He has had a huge impact on my personal and professional life. I can’t imagine having gone through it without him.”
Watt Companies CEO Jim Maginn recounted his interview with Ray 23 years ago. “I asked him why he was hiring all of these new top-level executives. He leaned in and said, ‘Between you and me Jim, I want to start backing off.’ I was hoping to get five years to learn from Ray. That was 23 years ago and he hasn’t backed off yet. ” Maginn noted that Ray’s work ethic and vision continue to drive the unique Watt corporate culture. “And thank goodness, I don’t see him backing away anytime soon.”
Larry Webb, former CEO of John Laing Homes, summed up the afternoon by saying, “The secret to Ray’s success is not early meetings or working harder, but that he figured out that people make the difference. We are all so blessed to have spent a little time with him.”
In typical Ray Watt fashion, he wrote and circulated a fact sheet, Little Known Facts about a few of Watt’s Partners of 63 Years, to all attendees. This fact sheet (attached) chronicles partnerships dating back to the first deal in 1946 – the development of a 50-unit mobile home park in Hawthorne, California.
The message of the day was partnership. Throughout his career, Ray counts 287 individual partnerships that helped his firm, and others, grow and succeed. “At the end of the day, it’s all about partnerships,” he said. “Partnerships with communities. Partnerships with other businesses. Partnerships with customers. Partnerships that last a lifetime.”
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