Here are the real estate titans connected to DFW’s elite schools
In North Texas real estate, prestige doesn’t come from the Ivy League.
It comes from the region’s own private universities: Southern Methodist University in Dallas and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
Like a stint at Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood or Henry S. Miller Company, a degree from SMU or TCU acts as a boldface on the resumes of young professionals throughout the Metroplex.
It doesn’t hurt that the region’s legendary real estate families have longstanding connections to these schools, with the Crow and Hunt families passing through the halls of SMU, while the Bass family in Fort Worth is heavily involved in happenings at TCU.
SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs are all over The Real Deal’s list of top real estate titans. Here’s who’s connected to North Texas’ elite schools, based on TRD research.
Southern Methodist University
SMU’s connection to real estate starts with its campus, which sits at the literal center of Texas’ most exclusive neighborhoods, the Park Cities.
The most expensive residential sales in Texas cluster in Preston Hollow, Highland Park and University Park, with the sale of a $30.5 million estate on Hunters Glen Road dwarfing the top sales of Houston and Austin last year, mansions which respectively asked $18.9 million and $16.9 million.
Additionally, the SMU look defines Dallas class. Some of the most sought-after residential architects in the Metroplex, such as Robbie Fusch and Robert A.M. Stern, designed buildings on SMU’s campus. With its signature dome, pillars and pediment, the marquee building of Old Parkland — the office complex where SMU benefactor George W. Bush hangs his hat — looks almost identical to SMU’s Dallas Hall.
In a business built on relationships, it’s important to note that the region’s prominent real estate dynasties were educated on the Hilltop.
Legendary Dallas developer Trammell Crow attended SMU, graduating in 1938 with an accounting degree. His daughter Lucy Billingsley, co-founder of Billingsley Company with her husband Henry Billingsley, attended University of Texas, but she still sponsors the SMU’s Tate Lecture Series.
Hunt Consolidated Executive Chairman and scion Ray Hunt is also a Mustang, along with his sisters June Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt and his son Hunter Hunt, chairman and co-CEO of Hunt Consolidated Energy. His niece Heather Hill Washburne and her husband, Ray Washburne, owner of upscale shopping center Highland Park Village, met at SMU.
Harwood International founder Gabriel Barbier-Mueller graduated from SMU after moving to Dallas from Geneva, Switzerland in 1979.
Other Mustangs among the Texas Top 100 include:
Texas Christian University
The Park Cities may ooze SMU prestige, but the “Queen of Highland Park” is a Horned Frog.
Allie Beth Allman and Associates ranked fourth among Dallas-area residential brokerages in 2024 for sales volume, according to TRD Data. It also boasts the highest-performing team in the state, the Perry Wisdom Barrett Group, according to RealTrends.
The brokerage was founded by Allie Beth Allman, the “Queen of Highland Park,” who attended TCU. Her protege, Keith Conlon, president and CEO of the brokerage, played baseball for the Horned Frogs.
Real estate folks with ties to TCU tend to stay in Fort Worth, like Alliance developer Ross Perot Jr., a supporter of the TCU Center for Real Estate.
Or the prominent Bass family.
The Bass family’s wealth began with oil tycoons Sid Richardson and his nephew Perry Richardson Bass. Sid Richardson’s name is splashed across a physical sciences building on campus. Perry’s mother and Sid’s sister, Annie Richardson Bass, also has her name on a building in the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Sasha Bass, who owns Sundance Square in Downtown Fort Worth with her husband Ed Bass (Sid’s nephew), is a university trustee.
Hayman Capital Management founder Kyle Bass isn’t related to the Bass family, but he’s also a Horned Frog.
