I 5 Billionaire-Backed Hospitality Investments In 2021

Billionaires

Here are five hospitality investments backed by billionaires in 2021. Net worths are as of February 8, 2022.

Last year, the hospitality sector remained resilient in the face of the ongoing pandemic—according to JLL’s Global Hotel Investment Outlook 2022 report—as investment transaction volumes in the global lodging industry skyrocketed by 131% to $66.8 billion in 2021 from a slump in 2020. Of the overall transaction, JLL revealed that $32.5 billion worth of hotel assets were acquired by private equity investors. Unsurprisingly, the ultra-rich made sure they got a piece of the pie.

Property: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Deal value: $2.2 billion Net worth: $132.6 billion Gates’ investment vehicle, Cascade Investments, is now the largest shareholder of luxury hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts after it agreed in September 2021 to purchase half of the stake held by Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the Tadawul-listed investment firm chaired by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The deal, which boosted Gates’ ownership from 47.5% to 71.25% and trimmed KHC’s stockholding to just 23.75%, was completed in January 2022 in an all-cash transaction worth $2.21 billion, valuing Four Seasons at a $10 billion enterprise value. Gates’ high-profile divorce to Melinda French Gates saw the billionaire philanthropist transfer some of his Cascade stocks worth $2.4 billion in August 2021 to his ex-wife as part of their asset settlement.

Property: Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Deal value: $345 million Net worth: $110.7 billion Through Ellison’s investment firm, Lawrence Investments, the Oracle cofounder bought Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino in September 2021 for $345 million, according to a transaction recorded in the U.S. state of Nevada’s Washoe County and confirmed by Forbes. The tech billionaire is known for pouring his wealth into several properties, including his current residence in the Hawaiian island of Lanai, in which he owns 98% bought for $300 million in 2012. In April 2021, Ellison also added an $80 million mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida into his real estate collection, which Forbes calculates to be worth above $1 billion.

Property: Stoke Park Ltd. Deal value: $77.2 million Net worth: $90.3 billion Ambani’s retail-to-refining Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) empire snapped up the U.K.’s iconic Stoke Park in April 2021 for $77.2 million (£57 million) via its Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd. (RIIHL) subsidiary. The Indian mogul’s marquee acquisition adds to RIL’s hospitality portfolio, which also has investments in India’s hotel chain operator Oberoi Group. Stoke Park, a country club and hotel in Buckinghamshire, England, has been featured in two James Bond movies and used as a backdrop for “The Crown” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” according to Bloomberg. In November 2021, Ambani dismissed speculations that his family was relocating to Stoke Park. The estate is temporarily shut for renovations, according to its website, as it enters “a transitional phase” under its new owner.

Property: dusitD2 Chiang Mai (D2CM) Deal value: $13.3 million Net worth: $12.1 billion Asset World Corp. (AWC), the property unit of Thailand’s third-richest person Sirivadhanabhakdi, received approval from its board in December 2021 to acquire the 130-room dusitD2 Chiang Mai hotel for $13.3 million (THB 435 million) from Dusit Thani Properties REIT Company Limited. In March 2021, AWC also teamed up with Hyatt Hotels Corporation to develop several hotels spread across the tourist-reliant Asian country, with over 1,000 new rooms expected from the agreement. This would make Sirivadhanabhakdi’s AWC the major owner of Hyatt-branded hotels in Thailand.

Property: Extended Stay America Inc Deal value: $6 billion Net worths: $37.3 billion (Schwarzman), $4.3 billion (Sternlicht) Funds managed by Schwarzman’s Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group completed the $6 billion acquisition of America’s mid-priced apartment hotel chain operator Extended Stay America (ESA) in June 2021. Both billionaires currently chair their respective private equity powerhouses, with heavy investments in real estate. ESA, which provides lodging for guests on short and long leases, manages 652 hotels in 44 U.S. states and claims its ESH Hospitality subsidiary is North America’s largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) by unit and room count. Nearly two weeks after the completed deal, ESA launched a new brand Extended Stay America Premier Suites, offering guests with more elevated and premium lodging.