Breaking the Charmed Circle Of White Wealth
Bloomberg Businessweek|August 09 - 16, 2021 (Double Issue)
Harvard told its real estate developer it needed to bring in Black and Latino investors
By Ira Boudway
Breaking the Charmed Circle Of White Wealth

At the end of 2019, Rob Speyer, president, and chief executive officer of the real estate company Tishman Speyer, was in the final stages of bidding for a highly coveted development deal with Harvard. The winner would build and manage a 2 million-square-foot life sciences research campus in Boston, next door to Harvard Business School, including labs, offices, retail, housing, and a hotel. As the deal neared closing, the school came to Speyer with a request: Would he be willing to set aside 5% of the equity in the project for Black and Latino investors? Speyer agreed and, that December, won the contract to build Harvard’s Enterprise Research Campus.

As he began looking for investors, Speyer quickly realized his network was almost entirely White. He would never get to 5% by going to the usual suspects. It was, he says, a “mind-blowing revelation.” At 51, Speyer has been working for more than 25 years at the company his father, Jerry, co-founded, sharing the CEO job with his dad for seven years before taking over in 2015. Before Harvard, he says, no one had ever asked him to meet a requirement of this kind, and he’d never thought twice about it. “I didn’t understand that Black and brown investors weren’t getting access to investment opportunities that a White person of the same means would,” he says.

The federal government and state agencies routinely put diversity and inclusion benchmarks into their contracts, but these standards typically focus on builders and tenants. It’s unusual for a private institution to make requirements for investors.

Esta historia es de la edición August 09 - 16, 2021 (Double Issue) de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición August 09 - 16, 2021 (Double Issue) de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKVer todo
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023