PHOTO BY ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES
Forbes magazine featured Greensboro developer Roy Carroll in its cover story on Monday, Dec. 5.
Under the headline, “The Guru Of Greensboro: How A College Dropout Built A $2.9 Billion Real Estate Empire,” Forbes provides quite a bit of background on Carroll, who is the owner and publisher of the Rhino Times, and how he became “the city’s richest resident.” Carroll is the founder, president and CEO of The Carroll Companies, headquartered in downtown Greensboro.
Forbes compares Carroll’s investment philosophy in real estate to that of Warren Buffett in stocks. “Like the Oracle of Omaha, Roy Carroll has made a fortune buying low and rarely selling. His sweet spot: cheap land that he’s turned into lucrative apartment complexes across the Southeast. Now Greensboro’s richest resident is biding his time, waiting for the coming real estate market collapse.”
Forbes notes that Carroll bought his first house when he was 14, fixed it up and sold it for a profit that he used to buy a Ford Mustang, even though he wasn’t old enough to drive, and that his fascination with cars resulted in a collection of limited-edition Ferraris.
Forbes states that Carroll’s “$2.9 billion fortune is largely made up of real estate, including more than 13,000 apartments and 29 self-storage facilities, as well as industrial land and mixed-use projects.”
According to the article, three-fourths of Carroll’s net worth is tied up in apartment complexes and 80 percent of those apartments are outside the Greensboro area, spread across 26 cities and communities in the Southeast, including Nashville, Tennessee and Austin, Texas.
Carroll told Forbes that currently he was pausing on new investment and construction to keep money available if real estate prices come down. He said, “I’m trying to keep every dollar I can on the sidelines today.”
The article notes that Carroll has recently entered into industrial development, where his clients include personal hygiene firm Ontex and the supermarket chain Publix. It states, “the latest addition to his empire is a $160 million mixed-use project in Bozeman, Montana.”
As the article notes, Carroll has come a long way from when he dropped out of college in 1983 to build a house with his father.
Might want to look into the Guilford County SD public information officer getting arrested for DWI last weeken.
This is an exceptional example of free enterprise. With a little luck, most people can do well if they work hard & work smart.
I have no respect for anyone who won’t apply themselves.
It’s wonderful that Mr. Carroll could realize such homemade wealth, but in my opinion, there’s nothing ‘guru’ about it, if in the wake of such wealth, he is not using a lot of it to help our society in a way that gets him off the billionaire list.
there may be some JPF complicity with regards to little Roy’s adventures in tearing up Greensboro, NC. *why does he need an elevator to hoist up his cars to a presentation room in the old “pink elephant” (name when JP bought/sold that old Wachovia building).
so, you see, not a big fan of robber/baron Roy. how many Units are occupied in said pink elephant? where do those folks park their cars…oh wait, i remember, “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot” and now there are more beds that folks cant afford yet nobody with power in Greensboro wants to help…*those with power
BTW, lest we forget the still imposed divide, West Market St. and East Market St.
Just look at the accomplishments of one person. You Dems will say , the only reason he is that wealthy is because he is white. I beg to differ with you it is because he set a goal and went for it.
Look at our schools today and the last 20 years , they have been deteriorating at a fast pace-Educationally for that long .I believe that the scores for Math an Science were at their lowest point in the last 30 years.that is thanks to the current leaders in the White House and the teachers unions.
Plus the Dems are head strong to promote whatever this stupid philosophy about ‘Wokism’ . Look at our Military we are in danger of not being able to put battalions on a battlefield because we need to learn all the ignorant pronoun that the Dems are focusing on for our grammar grades through college and even Medical School. If we don’t stop this stupid philosophy that the Dems are pushing within 10 years we will all be Learning Chinese .
Our Hunter Biden is corrupt and his Dad is right in the middle of it. So we could start by going back to The three ‘R’s . Not telling a 4 year old if he’s a male what sexual organs a female has. Or showing a homosexual and explaining what he does with another person of the same sex . Let the children be children they will learn the Facts of life early enough.
No with the Dems they want to destroy the child’s ability to reason and learn by telling them about this weak and stupid Wokeism.
We have lost a generation of college students and now we are seeing the youngest among us being taught stuff to mess their up.
RISE UP YOUNG PEOPLE And REBEL AGAINST THIS DIRECTION THAT THE DEMS ARE FORCING YOU TO GO EDUCATIONALLY.
One concerned old man!!!!!
He isn’t successful because he is white. It was just easier for him to find success because he is white and didn’t have the extra barriers that racism would have put in his way. In no way does this diminish the accomplishment of Roy and his father and all they have done for Greensboro.
I think you are right about Mr. Carroll’s less impeded road to success. However, racism is an invention of the LEFT to divide our nation into warring camps. “Divide and conquer”.
Wow. This is by far the best, most uplifting article the Rhino Times has posted in a while. Usually it’s just a daily list of what’s currently triggering local conservatives and a reminder of what big babies the Republicans are. This article is a happy brief history and mazel tov to the owner of Rhino Times. Lets see more good news like this.
Mark is off the mark.
I am wondering what the “crime” report, in the past two years, looks like for downtown Greensboro ….and now State St….it is no joke to the Greensboro population…..