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B.F. Saul Company
B.F. Saul Company was founded in 1892 when a 19-year-old B. Francis Saul opened a real estate and insurance business in a then-sleepy Washington, D.C.
B.F. Saul Company
B.F. Saul Company was founded in 1892 when a 19-year-old B. Francis Saul opened a real estate and insurance business in a then-sleepy Washington, D.C. Over 130 years later, under the leadership of Chairman and CEO B. Francis Saul II, the firm operates as the family's principal investment vehicle. Its wealth originates from a century of real estate development, mortgage banking, and hospitality investments concentrated in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The firm pursues a concentrated direct-investment strategy across commercial and residential real estate, property management, and hospitality. Its portfolio includes trophy assets such as The Hay-Adams Hotel, The Kennedy-Warren apartment building, and the mixed-use development The Waycroft in Arlington, Virginia. The family also controls Saul Centers, a publicly listed REIT, and maintains a major leasing and commercial insurance division. Its geographic focus remains deeply rooted in North America, with multiple properties spanning Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The firm is entirely privately owned and does not disclose assets under management. Its scale is inferred from a multibillion-dollar portfolio of long-held Class A properties. The next generation is active: B. Francis Saul III founded Saul Investment Group and Saul Urban, separate ventures that reflect the family's ongoing commitment to urban infill and operating businesses. The Saul family also maintains a private corporate jet and a significant art collection, alongside a suite of professional club memberships in the capital region. B.F. Saul Company's structural differentiator is its embedded public-private hybrid. By holding a controlling interest in Saul Centers while running a private family office, the firm can tap public debt markets and maintain permanent capital simultaneously — a dual-track structure uncommon among pure single-family offices. This architecture has enabled multi-decade holds on trophy assets like The Hay-Adams, insulating the portfolio from forced-sale cycles that dictate behavior at more traditional real estate investment managers.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
1892
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Bethesda
Corporate office
Bethesda, MD, United States
Principals
B. Francis Saul II
Chairman and CEO
B. Francis Saul III
Founder, Saul Investment Group and Saul Urban
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How is B.F. Saul Company related to Saul Centers?
B.F. Saul Company is the private family office that holds a controlling interest in Saul Centers, a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The REIT owns and operates a portfolio of shopping centers and mixed-use properties, primarily in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas. This structure allows the Saul family to combine permanent private capital with access to public debt and equity markets.
Who makes the key investment decisions at the firm?
B. Francis Saul II, Chairman and CEO, leads the firm's strategic direction and major investment decisions, a role he has held since 1969. The Saul family maintains tight operational control, with the next generation also active through ventures like Saul Investment Group and Saul Urban, founded by his son, B. Francis Saul III.
What is the firm's approach to hospitality investments?
The firm does not operate as a diversified hotel platform. Its hospitality exposure is concentrated in a single iconic trophy asset, The Hay-Adams, a luxury hotel located at 800 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. across from the White House. The property is managed directly and reflects the firm's preference for long-term holds on irreplaceable physical assets.
Does B.F. Saul Company invest outside of real estate?
The core public equity and debt portfolio is not disclosed. The firm's known focus is intensely concentrated on direct real estate equity, development, property management, and a commercial insurance division. The sale of Chevy Chase Bank to Capital One in 2009 marked its exit from major financial services holdings.
How is the family's philanthropic activity structured?
The Saul family channels giving through at least two entities: the Bernard & Ella Saul Foundation and the Saul Foundation for Progress, Inc. These foundations are structured separately from the family office's commercial real estate operations.
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