Our Founder

Benjamin V. Lambert

Ben was a legend in real estate and the founder of the real estate investment banking industry. He established the unique culture of the firm that is the hallmark of our company today.

Ben founded the firm in 1967 with the vision to bring an investment banking approach to real estate. Over the course of his 54-year career, he was involved in some of the world’s most iconic real estate transactions, such as: the financing of the Embarcadero Center in the early 70’s; facilitating the purchase of the Irvine Ranch in 1977; the sale of the MacArthur Foundation apartment portfolio in the mid-80’s; and the sale of the Helmsley Portfolio in the 90’s.

Over time, the firm grew, expanding across the world and becoming an integral partner on every type of property and transaction type. In the 1980’s, the firm entered into a venture with Nomura Securities and from 1999 to 2019 operated as a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank. In 2019, Ben and the firm’s management team led Eastdil Secured’s recapitalization, in partnership with Guggenheim, Temasek and Wells Fargo. This management-led recapitalization took the firm private and solidified the firm’s position as the premier independent real estate investment bank.