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Starwood Capital Group Management
Barry Sternlicht founded Starwood Capital Group in 1991 after leaving his role as a managing director at JMB Realty.
Starwood Capital Group Management
Barry Sternlicht founded Starwood Capital Group in 1991 after leaving his role as a managing director at JMB Realty. The firm's wealth origin is Sternlicht's founding vision and the capital he raised from institutional investors — there is no disclosed single-family-office base. The firm invests across real estate equity, private credit, hospitality, and infrastructure. Target sectors include opportunistic and value-add real estate, commercial real estate debt, and hotel ownership. Portfolio companies include Starwood Hotels & Resorts (sold in 2016) and current investments in multifamily and office assets across the US and Europe. Geographic focus is primarily North America and Western Europe. Starwood Capital Group operates from offices in Miami Beach, New York, and London. The firm is known for its permanent capital vehicles, including the Starwood Real Estate Income Trust (SREIT) and the Starwood European Real Estate Finance vehicle. A recent operational event: July 2024: Starwood Capital Group closed Starwood Real Estate Income Trust at over $13 billion in net assets (per SEC filings, 2024). Adjacent structures include the Starwood Capital Foundation for philanthropy. A structural differentiator is Starwood Capital Group's ability to raise large-scale, perpetual-life investment vehicles like SREIT, which provide sticky capital for long-duration real estate strategies in illiquid markets. This contrasts with many real estate private equity firms that rely on closed-end funds with defined terminal dates.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1991
AUM
$50B - $100B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Miami Beach
Corporate office
Miami Beach, FL, United States
Additional offices
New York, NY, United States · London, United Kingdom
Principals
Barry Sternlicht
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Starwood Capital Group?
Barry Sternlicht, as Chairman and CEO, sets the firm's strategic direction and oversees the investment committee. Specific investment decisions are made by teams within the firm's equity, credit, and hospitality verticals (public record).
How does Starwood Capital Group source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources deals through its permanent capital vehicles, such as the Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, which allow it to act as a patient buyer in off-market transactions. It also leverages relationships from its hospitality operating platforms to source distressed or value-add properties (per the firm's communications).
Is Starwood Capital Group structured as a single family office or a traditional asset manager?
Starwood Capital Group operates as a traditional real estate asset manager, raising capital from institutional investors and retail channels through vehicles like closed-end funds and non-traded REITs. It does not function as a family office for any single family (public record).
Does Starwood Capital Group participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm primarily invests through its own funds and managed accounts, including direct real estate equity, private credit, and hospitality investments. It does not act as a fund-of-funds or make commitments to external third-party funds (per the firm's stated strategy).
What investment stages does Starwood Capital Group typically target?
The firm targets opportunistic and value-add investments across the real estate capital stack, from equity to mezzanine debt. It also pursues core-plus and stabilized assets through its perpetual-life vehicles like SREIT (per SEC filings).
Which sectors does Starwood Capital Group explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publicly disclose explicit exclusion lists. However, its known focus is on real estate, private credit, and hospitality; it does not appear to invest in venture capital, public equities, or energy infrastructure (per public record).
How is Starwood Capital Group related to Starwood Hotels & Resorts?
Starwood Capital Group founded and previously owned Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which was sold to Marriott International in 2016. The firm retains a separate hospitality operating platform under the Starwood brand but no longer controls the hotel chain (public record).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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