Type: Public
On the web: http://www.equityapartments.com
Employees: 4,000
Employee growth: (2.4%)

The "Grave Dancer" is also the lord of the rents. Sam Zell (whose unofficial nickname springs from his buying and turning around moribund properties) is at the head of the conga line at Equity Residential, one of the largest apartment owners in the US by sales and units. A real estate investment trust (REIT), the company wholly owns some 425 garden-style, high-rise, and mid-rise multifamily communities with nearly 120,000 units in large metropolitan areas; it also owns two military housing complexes and partially owns about two dozen other apartment properties totaling around an additional 10,000 units. Its properties are spread across more than 15 states and Washington, DC.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2010:
Sales: $1,995.5M
One year growth: 2.7%
Net income: $283.6M
Income growth: (21.7%)

Officers:
Chairman: Samuel (Sam) Zell
President, CEO, and Trustee: David J. Neithercut
EVP and CFO: Mark J. Parrell

Competitors:
Apartment Investment and Management
Archstone
UDR

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