1. Ryan Serhant

Based in New York City, NY, USA

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Founder and CEO of SERHANT. — the real estate brokerage he built at the intersection of media, entertainment, education, and technology — and the most powerful personal brand in real estate globally. A three-time bestselling author, Executive Producer and star of Netflix's Owning Manhattan, host of the Big Money Energy podcast, and Forbes contributor, Serhant has closed nearly $10 billion in career sales and built an audience of over 6 million across platforms. Throughout 2025-2026 his LinkedIn activity remained among the most analytically sharp real estate market commentary available, including widely shared posts on the Compass-Anywhere Real Estate merger and what it means for independent brokerages. The definitive example of what a modern real estate personal brand can become when built with the same intentionality as a media company.

 

 

2. Tom Ferry

Based in Dallas, Texas, USA

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Founder and CEO of Ferry International — the world's leading real estate coaching and training organisation, with coaches operating across the US, Canada, and internationally — and the most widely followed real estate coach in the world, with over 1 million combined social media followers. For over 25 years, Ferry has been the single most influential force shaping how residential real estate agents think about business strategy, lead generation, and professional development. His YouTube channel — featuring in-depth interviews with top-producing agents and market analysis — and his annual Summit events continued to set the agenda for serious real estate professionals throughout 2025-2026. The coach behind more top-producing agents than any other individual in the industry.

 

 

3. Barbara Corcoran

Based in New York City, NY, USA

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Founder of The Corcoran Group — which she built from a $1,000 loan into one of New York's most powerful brokerages before selling it for $66 million — Shark Tank investor, author, and the most widely recognised real estate personality in mainstream American culture. With 3.5 million Instagram followers and 1.2 million LinkedIn followers, and a near-constant media presence throughout 2025-2026 on everything from housing market commentary to entrepreneurship advice, Corcoran's personal brand extends far beyond the real estate profession into the broader business and entrepreneurship audience. Her origin story — from waitress to real estate mogul — remains one of the most compelling and widely shared entrepreneurship narratives in American business.

 

 

4. Fredrik Eklund

Based in Miami, Florida, USA

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One of the most recognisable luxury real estate brokers in the world, star of Million Dollar Listing New York and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, co-founder of The Eklund-Gomes Team — one of the highest-producing real estate teams in the US — and author of The Sell, which has been widely adopted as a sales and personal branding manual well beyond the real estate industry. With over 2 million combined social media followers and a distinctive personal brand built on authenticity, energy, and autobiographical storytelling rather than pure property marketing, Eklund represents the archetype of the real estate professional who has outgrown the industry's traditional boundaries and built a genuinely cross-category personal brand.

 

 

5. Graham Stephan

Based in Las Vegas, Nevada USA

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Real estate agent, investor, and content creator with over $130 million in residential sales since beginning his career at 18, and one of the most successful personal finance and real estate YouTube channels in the world with over 4 million subscribers. Throughout 2025-2026, Stephan's combination of genuine transactional experience, personal finance depth, and relatable communication style continued to make him the primary gateway through which millions of millennials and Gen Z audiences approach real estate investing as a concept. His Real Estate Agent Academy coaching programme has trained thousands of agents. The clearest example of a working real estate professional who built a media empire on top of a legitimate practice — in that order.

 

 

6. Grant Cardone

Based in Miami, Florida, USA

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Founder and CEO of Cardone Capital — the multifamily real estate investment platform managing a $5 billion portfolio of 14,200 apartment units across 43 properties in the US — and the most widely followed real estate investing voice in the world with over 13 million combined social media followers. Throughout 2025-2026, Cardone was among the most active and newsworthy figures in real estate: in June 2025 he purchased 1,000 Bitcoin and launched the 10X Miami River Bitcoin Fund, combining a 346-unit Miami River multifamily asset with a Bitcoin allocation in a single investment vehicle. In February 2026 he announced plans to tokenise Cardone Capital's entire $5 billion portfolio — the largest single-entity real estate tokenisation announced to date — and confirmed plans for a 2026 IPO. His conviction that multifamily real estate is the superior wealth-building asset class, held publicly and consistently for over a decade, has shaped how millions of investors think about property. Whether you agree with his methods or not, no one in the review period generated more real estate conversation than Grant Cardone.

 

 

7. Josh Altman

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

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One of the top-producing luxury real estate brokers in the US with over $10 billion in career sales, star of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, author of It's Your Move, and one of the most commercially credible real estate personalities on television — known for a no-nonsense, numbers-first approach that distinguishes him from more lifestyle-oriented competitors. Active throughout 2025-2026 with a consistent social media presence and podcast appearances on real estate investing, market conditions, and negotiation strategy. His combination of genuine transactional volume and media presence makes him one of the most credible voices at the intersection of luxury real estate practice and personal brand building.

 

 

8. Pace Morby

Based in Tempe, Arizona, USA

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Investor, educator, and founder of SubTo — the most widely followed creative real estate financing community in the world, focused on subject-to and seller financing strategies that make real estate accessible without traditional bank financing. Throughout 2025-2026, as rising interest rates kept conventional purchasing out of reach for millions of buyers, Morby's frameworks for creative financing became more practically relevant than ever, driving extraordinary community growth and social media engagement. His ability to teach complex financing structures in plain language, and his genuine investor track record backing his educational content, make him the most important voice in the creative real estate financing space.

 

 

9. Glennda Baker

Based in Marietta, Georgia, USA

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Atlanta-based broker and the most viral real estate storyteller on TikTok, known for her signature opening and southern storytelling style that transforms real estate transactions into compelling short-form narratives. Throughout 2025-2026, Baker's videos continued to regularly reach millions of views — making her one of the clearest examples in any industry of how authentic personal voice and platform-native storytelling can build a genuinely national real estate brand from a local practice. Her influence extends beyond her market: agents across the US cite her content style as a model for how to build an audience on social media without sacrificing authenticity.

 

 

10. Tatiana Londono

Based in Westmound, Quebec, Canada

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Founder and CEO of Londono Realty Group — operating across Montreal and Miami with over 100 agents — certified real estate broker, coach, and one of the most widely followed real estate voices on TikTok globally with over 2.8 million followers. Throughout 2025-2026, Londono's bilingual content on real estate investing, wealth building, and market strategy continued to reach audiences well beyond North America, making her one of the most internationally relevant real estate personal brands in the world. Her combination of active brokerage leadership and content creation at scale represents the model many agents are trying to replicate.

 

 

11. Tarek El Moussa

Based in Orange County, California, USA

Real estate investor, house flipper, HGTV star of Flip or Flop and The Flipping El Moussas, and one of the most widely recognised real estate investing personalities in mainstream media. Throughout 2025-2026, El Moussa's content on house flipping strategy, market timing, and real estate investing continued to reach millions across social media and television, while his genuine investor activity — buying, renovating, and selling properties throughout the Southern California market — gave his educational content an operational credibility that distinguishes him from purely media-facing real estate personalities.

 

 

12. Tracy Tutor

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

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One of the top luxury real estate agents in Los Angeles, star of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, and one of the most openly candid voices in the industry on what building a career in luxury real estate actually requires. Throughout 2025-2026, Tutor's social media presence and media appearances continued to combine genuine market expertise with a direct, no-nonsense communication style that resonates strongly with both consumers and fellow agents. Her willingness to discuss the realities of the business — including its challenges and its gender dynamics — makes her one of the most respected and most relatable figures in luxury real estate media.

 

 

13. Jason Oppenheim

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

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Founder of The Oppenheim Group, star and subject of Netflix's Selling Sunset — one of the most watched real estate reality franchises in the world — and one of the most strategically effective users of media exposure to build brokerage brand in the industry. With over 20 years of experience in luxury Los Angeles real estate and career sales well in excess of $1 billion, Oppenheim's combination of genuine transactional credibility and extraordinary media profile makes him one of the most influential figures in how a global audience perceives luxury real estate. Active throughout 2025-2026 as the Selling Sunset franchise continued to expand its audience on Netflix.

 

 

14. Rod Khleif

Based in Sarasota, Florida, USA

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Multifamily real estate investor, founder of the Lifetime CashFlow podcast — one of the longest-running and most listened-to real estate investing podcasts in the world — author of How to Create Lifetime CashFlow Through Multifamily Properties, and founder of the Multifamily Bootcamp training programme. With 1.3 million social media followers and a career spanning thousands of apartment units across multiple markets, Khleif is the most trusted voice in the multifamily real estate investing education space for investors who want rigorous operational depth rather than motivational content. Active throughout 2025-2026 with weekly podcast episodes, events, and a consistently engaged community.

 

 

15. Brandon Turner

Based in Kihei, Hawaii, USA

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Former VP of Growth at BiggerPockets — the largest real estate investing community in the world — author of The Book on Rental Property Investing and multiple other titles that have collectively introduced millions of people to real estate investing, and founder of Open Door Capital, a real estate private equity firm focused on multifamily and mobile home park investments. Throughout 2025-2026, Turner's combination of published educational content, an active podcast and social media presence, and genuine fund management activity made him one of the most multi-dimensional real estate investing voices in the world — practitioner, educator, and community builder simultaneously.

 

 

16. David Greene

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA

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Former co-host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast — the most listened-to real estate investing podcast in the world during his tenure — author of multiple BiggerPockets titles including Long-Distance Real Estate Investing and SCALE, founder of The David Greene Team, and one of the most practically useful voices on building a real estate investing business systematically rather than opportunistically. Active throughout 2025-2026 with his own podcast and social media content on market conditions, agent business building, and real estate investing strategy. His departure from BiggerPockets and successful independent platform building is itself a case study in real estate personal brand development.

 

 

17. Ken McElroy

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

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Founder of MC Companies — a real estate investment firm managing over $1 billion in multifamily assets — author of The ABCs of Real Estate Investing and The ABCs of Property Management, Rich Dad advisor, and one of the most credible and consistent voices on multifamily real estate investing fundamentals. Throughout 2025-2026, McElroy's YouTube channel, podcast, and social media content on market cycles, cap rates, and what disciplined multifamily investing requires continued to reach a large and highly engaged investor audience. His combination of active asset management at scale and accessible educational content makes him one of the most trusted voices in the real estate investment community.

 

 

18. Neal Bawa

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA

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Founder and CEO of Grocapitus Investments and MultifamilyU, and widely known as "the Mad Scientist of Multifamily" for his data-driven, analytical approach to real estate investing education. Throughout 2025-2026, Bawa's conference presentations, podcast appearances, and educational content on using data analytics to identify real estate markets and evaluate deals continued to attract some of the most analytically oriented investors in the space. His combination of active deal activity, rigorous quantitative framework, and prolific educational output makes him the most data-focused voice in the real estate investing education space.

 

 

19. Josh Flagg

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

 

One of the top luxury real estate agents in Los Angeles with over $2 billion in career sales, star of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, author of A Simple Girl, and one of the most consistently commercially effective real estate media personalities in the industry. Throughout 2025-2026, Flagg's social media presence and television profile continued to make him one of the most recognisable faces in luxury real estate — particularly for his historic property expertise, his knowledge of Los Angeles architectural heritage, and his distinctive personal brand that combines genuine market knowledge with an entertaining public persona.

 

 

20. Mauricio Umansky

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

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Founder and CEO of The Agency — the luxury real estate brokerage he built into a nationally recognised brand with offices across the US and internationally — star of Buying Beverly Hills on Netflix, and one of the most successful brokerage builders in modern real estate history. Throughout 2025-2026, Umansky's combination of active brokerage leadership, television profile, and social media presence continued to make him one of the most influential figures in luxury real estate. His model for building a brand-forward brokerage — where the company's identity is as carefully constructed as any media property — has been widely studied and emulated across the industry.

 

 

21. James Harris & David Parnes

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA

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Partners at The Agency and stars of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles — the British duo who built one of the most recognisable luxury real estate partnerships in US media, with career sales exceeding $5 billion in the Los Angeles market. Throughout 2025-2026, Harris and Parnes remained active on social media and in the media landscape, their British-in-Beverly-Hills brand positioning as distinctive and effective as ever in a market saturated with real estate personalities. Listed together as a genuine partnership whose joint brand is stronger than either individual component.

 

 

22. Nicole Beauchamp

Based in New York City, NY, USA

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Global real estate advisor at Engel & Völkers, one of the most active and analytically rigorous real estate voices on LinkedIn, and a consistent presence on industry panels and media on the intersection of luxury real estate, global markets, and technology. Throughout 2025-2026, Beauchamp's LinkedIn content on market data, international real estate trends, and what technology is doing to the profession stood out for its substance in a space where much real estate social content prioritises aesthetics over analysis. One of the clearest examples of a practising agent who has built a genuinely professional thought leadership platform rather than a lifestyle brand.

 

 

23. Roh Habibi

Based in San Francisco, California, USA

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Top-producing luxury real estate agent, former star of Million Dollar Listing San Francisco, motivational speaker, and one of the most compelling personal stories in the industry — having moved to the US from Afghanistan as a child with nothing and built a multi-hundred-million-dollar real estate career through an approach combining cultural intelligence, relationship depth, and relentless personal development. Throughout 2025-2026, Habibi's speaking engagements, social media content, and coaching work continued to reach audiences that extend well beyond the real estate profession into the broader entrepreneurship and personal development space.

 

 

24. Thach Nguyen

Based in Seattle, Washington, USA

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Real estate broker, investor, developer, and co-founder of Springboard to Wealth — with over 30 years of experience and a career that spans brokerage, development, and investment education. Born in Vietnam and raised in the US after his family arrived as refugees, Nguyen's story and his mission to help others build wealth through real estate have made him one of the most authentic and widely followed real estate voices on social media. Active throughout 2025-2026 with daily content on real estate investing, wealth building, and personal resilience, his following is built on trust rather than spectacle — a durable foundation in a content landscape that rewards authenticity.

 

 

25. Jimmy Mackin

Based in Boston, MA, USA

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Co-founder of Curaytor — the real estate marketing platform used by thousands of top-producing agents — and widely described as one of the most useful people to follow in real estate for his practical, implementation-ready content on marketing, lead generation, AI tools, and business systems for agents. Throughout 2025-2026, Mackin's content on how agents should be using AI in their marketing, his email and direct mail frameworks, and his practical business development advice continued to generate significant engagement among serious real estate professionals. A builder of tools and frameworks rather than a personal brand for its own sake — which paradoxically makes his personal brand one of the most trusted in the industry.

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Congratulations to All 25 Honourees

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Think a Real Estate professional belongs on next year's list? 

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Nominations for the 2027 Industry Leaders Top 25 can be made here https://www.theindustryleaders.org/nominate

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Selections are made at the sole editorial discretion of The Industry Leaders based on publicly available information. Inclusion or exclusion does not constitute an endorsement, and positions within the list do not reflect a definitive ranking of merit.