Master Builder Mortimer Zuckerman Reflects on Business, the Media, Public Policy, Philanthropy, and Living a Life ‘Better Than My Fantasies’
MASTER BUILDER MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN REFLECTS ON BUSINESS, THE MEDIA, PUBLIC POLICY, PHILANTHROPY, AND LIVING A LIFE ‘BETTER THAN MY FANTASIES’ Mortimer B. Zuckerman Chairman and CEO, Boston Properties; Publisher, New York Daily News Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News & World Report February 8, 2013 Excerpts from Mr. Zuckerman’s Remarks College Rankings: Do people ask, how can I get my rankings in U.S. News’ college rankings higher? It is certainly a continuous topic of conversation, and it has had, I have to say, a remarkable impact on the world of education, something which we did not anticipate when it first came about. Canadian Heritage: Do you speak French? I actually did speak French. I have not found it useful in Boston. Interest rates: I’ve literally been bearish about the economy really since 2006. I’m still bearish about the economy. So I don’t know that rents are going to go up, but I also don’t know that interest rates are going to go up until the economy gets better. And, therefore, I think there’ll be some relative degree of sustainability of prices, but not necessarily based on their income, which is the thing that worries me. So I’m cautious about either buying buildings or starting buildings. We are doing it in some markets, when we have it pre-leased as we do – we’re going to build a 500,000 square-foot building here in Washington – another one. But we have a major tenant taking roughly 80 percent of that. We have the ability to do that because we have credibility in the market, but that’s the kind of construction or new development we would do.
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