After apologizing for using a vulgarity to talk about female employment, news has surfaced that Sam Zell said another offensive thing about women earlier this year.
Zell, 76, spoke at a panel discussion at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in April. In response to a question about his company’s investment in Argentina, he said, “Argentina is like a beautiful woman — her greatest asset is a man’s imagination,” Politico reported, based on the account of one of the panel’s attendees.
The chairman of Equity Group Investments made headlines last week after speaking at the REITweek investor conference. After saying that he promoted women based on merit, Zell added: “I don’t think there’s ever been a, ‘We gotta get more pussy on the block, OK?’”
He subsequently apologized to the conferences organizers, Nareit, for the comments. A spokesperson for Equity Group declined to comment about the April panel. [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel