History of Thomas Barrack ..including his involvement in the Ed Meese affair.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/10/31/8359143/index.htm
COuple of thing stood out to me:
First:
“He has 182 employees around the world who monitor local markets, looking for opportunities he can exploit. At the same time, he buys primarily high-quality properties—those that, if skillfully resurrected, can command a premium.”
Second:
“...Saudi sheikhs could be a hot commodity. When his Fluor assignment ended, Barrack stayed on and went to work reviewing deals for two young Saudi princes. (Foreign suitors needed a sponsor in the royal family to win government contracts.) Barrack learned Arabic and immersed himself in the local folkways. “When I’d go back to California for a visit, my friends couldn’t understand what I was doing,” he recalls. But he knew: By going down the road less traveled, he was positioning himself to jump ahead. And jump he did. Barrack became a powerful middleman, and over 4½ years did tens of millions in deals for the princes...”
Third:
His timing was perfect. ...in many financial deals. All making him and others a great deal of money.
Tom Barrack is driving a dusty Chevy Suburban around his 1,200-acre mountain ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif. Nestled between the Ronald Reagan estate and Michael Jackson's Neverland, Barrack's spread is a medley of vineyards, pastures, and paddocks.
Bet those pastures soon become hotels and swimming pools for the tourists that are to visit the newly expanded and renovated "Neverland".
He has experience in Hotels and is considered a real estate developer extraordinaire.