David Schwartz

CEO, Waterton

Schwartz’s Chicago-based multifamily investment firm was founded while he snacked on Pop Tarts with his partner Pete Vilim over 30 years ago.

They met early in their careers while at fellow apartments giant AMLI Residential, and Schwartz had a run as an acquisitions specialist at Sam Zell’s Equity Residential — but by 1995 they wanted something of their own.

Thus, Waterton was born, with financial backing from the Pritzker family and other prominent investors, and grew into a national powerhouse by buying, renovating and operating apartments in major cities across the U.S. Schwartz helped scale the platform to roughly $10 billion in assets at its peak. In 2025, it was deploying its 15th investment fund.

Already established, Waterton burnished its reputation during the long economic expansion that followed the Great Recession in 2008, targeting underperforming apartments and driving returns through property upgrades. Recently, the firm has been more selective. Waterton spent $90 million on Fulton Market-area multifamily, doubled down on Los Angeles with a $167 million Woodland Hills acquisition and recycled capital through sales in markets like West Miami and suburban Chicago, including an $82 million disposition of aging Illinois property.

Slowed rent growth, higher operating costs and rising interest rates have compressed margins across the sector, forcing Waterton to prioritize fiscal discipline and asset management over deal volume. Schwartz has been outspoken about the excesses of the recent real estate cycle, noting that many competitors relied on floating-rate debt and aggressive assumptions leading up to interest rate hikes in 2022. “None of it was sustainable,” he said of the peak-era buying, fueled in-part by near-zero interest rates.

Under Schwartz, Waterton has leaned into fixed-rate financing and patience, emerging as a bigger buyer after prices reset rather than at the top.