John Aaroe, who was part of the first wave of Los Angeles’ luxury brokerages and a mentor to many of the market’s top talent, died Tuesday. He was 74.
A spokesperson for family and friends confirmed Aaroe died in his Rancho Mirage home. They said he died peacefully after battling a rare neurological condition called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
Aaroe was known to many as a celebrity agent and influencer before those terms were part of the everyday vernacular, with a star-studded client roster that included Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Cher and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. After standing out for sales at Jon Douglas Company, he carved a path for himself as a brokerage owner when he and Alan Field started John Aaroe & Associates in 1994, gaining market share and claiming the highest agent sales per agent by 1999, according to RealTrends.
Aaroe, described by friends as charismatic, was tall in stature with feathery blond hair and a mustache that was known to draw looks when he walked into a room.
While his career milestones as an agent were many, Aaroe is remembered by friends and former co-workers for his leadership and mentorship.
Colin Keenan, Westside Estate Agency executive vice president and general manager, worked for Aaroe for about 12 years and told The Real Deal, “I, like many people, owe my career to the vision he created at John Aaroe & Associates and the stunning array of talent he attracted.”
“John did a lot to change the business for the better and helped set a higher standard in the luxury marketplace,” Keenan said.
Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California founder Aaron Kirman was with John Aaroe Group, another brokerage Aaroe founded, between 2013 and 2016.
“John was an extraordinary mentor, a trusted friend and a remarkable human being,” Kirman said in a statement to TRD. “Much of my success can be credited to his guidance, generosity and unwavering belief in others. His influence extended far beyond any one organization; across multiple companies and communities, John mentored and inspired countless individuals. The legacy he leaves behind lives on through the people he uplifted, the careers he shaped and the values he instilled wherever he went.”
Craig Strong of Compass also credited Aaroe for his career, calling him “iconic,” in an Instagram post on Thursday evening.
Compass’ Sally Forster Jones joined John Aaroe Group in 2014 and was president of Aaroe International Luxury Properties in Beverly Hills.
“[Aaroe was] truly a guiding light in ethics and vision,” Forster Jones said in a statement provided to TRD.
Building brokerages
Aaroe made a name for himself initially selling high-end real estate locally and forming the luxury estates division at Jon Douglas, called Douglas Properties. He led that division as general manager before teaming with Field to open their own brokerage.
John Aaroe & Associates made its debut to the market Jan. 17, the same day the Northridge earthquake struck the greater Los Angeles area with a 6.7 magnitude, devastating broad swaths of the city’s residential stock and buckling the 10 Freeway. While some might have viewed that start as an ominous sign, Aaroe and Field went on to quickly scale the business in a big way so much so it was snapped up in 1998 by Pickford Realty, which was part of Prudential Realty.
Aaroe stayed on with the firm as managing partner, running Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and the desert region at the company, which was renamed Prudential John Aaroe & Associates.
In 2009, Aaroe opened John Aaroe Group and scaled that business until San Francisco’s Pacific Union International came calling in 2017 with a purchase offer.
The merger created a mega brokerage with a combined 1,100 agents across 38 California offices and volume of $10.5 billion.
Aaroe retained a stake in the business, which eventually became shares in Compass after the brokerage acquired Pacific Union in 2018.
Full circle
Following the sale to Pacific Union, Aaroe quietly retired to Rancho Mirage. In some ways, the move back to the Coachella Valley was a homecoming.
Aaroe, the only child of Danish immigrants, was born in Los Angeles and raised in Palm Springs.
His father, Oscar Aaroe, was a silversmith and owned his own boutique on Palm Canyon Drive, in the central nerve of the city’s downtown.
Aaroe would later head back to Los Angeles, where he graduated from the University of Southern California and earned his real estate license in 1975.
He was self-made and gave back to the community from the start of John Aaroe & Associates, when he established a charity that has since raised millions of dollars and continues on under Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices of America (which bought Prudential in 2012).
The charitable work was a point of reflection Aaroe shared with close friends earlier this month.
“I landed in L.A. without enough money to pay a month’s rent. Ended up building three great companies, had the finest managers in town, the best people a person could hope for, like
you, who made me look better than I am, or deserved to look like,” Aaroe said in a Dec. 7 text that was shared with TRD.
“Loved my Wheatens [terriers], had three boats, never sank one of them. The best of all wasn’t the private planes (although they sure are addictive), it was our charitable foundation. Delivering gifts at night in South Central was a Christmas that no one can top. Young families, living in one room, and delivering armloads of gifts, food and a check for a month’s rent…. That felt like Christmas.”
A celebration of life for Aaroe is planned for February.
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