Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy-wilson Holdings
Search every verified William Mcmorrow interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a July 2025 podcast, McMorrow discussed Kennedy Wilson's growth from a small auction company he purchased in 1988 into an international real estate firm. He highlighted the company's recent acquisition of a $5.7 billion loan portfolio, which he described as a transformative move that put the firm "back in banking in a big way." McMorrow also noted that Kennedy Wilson is one of the largest construction and bridge lenders in the country and is expanding its affordable and senior housing portfolio, which he called "the biggest issue in the world." McMorrow has been critical of the Federal Reserve's handling of interest rates, stating in a November 2024 interview that the Fed was "slow to react" and that he would have "started lowering rates early this year" based on ground-level data on rent growth. He has also expressed concern about rent control, arguing that it "discourages development and capital investment." McMorrow emphasized the importance of mentorship, contrarian thinking, and building a business on handshakes and long-term relationships, crediting his mentor George Graziadio for teaching him these principles.
“When you think about Kennedy Wilson, I was able to buy it in 1988 as a small auction company, and the second night I was there, I said, 'If you ever find any condominium projects in California that we can buy, I've got capital.' That capital was coming from my mentor, George Grazadillo.”
“In 1994, I went to Japan to get bank approval for an auction, and I realized the Japanese were making some crazy loans. That led us to open an office there and eventually form Kennedy Wilson Japan public company.”
“During the Great Financial Crisis, we went public in October 2009 to raise capital because there was no capital for anybody. That money allowed us to take advantage of the location and grow the company.”
“We bought the Bank of Ireland's real estate asset management division in 2011, acquiring 14 key people and an income stream, which was critical because starting a real estate business with no income can devour cash.”
“Prem Watsa has been transformative for Kennedy Wilson; we've done $18 billion of joint ventures together, which helped infuse equity into the balance sheet during the Great Recession when capital was scarce.”
“Today, Kennedy Wilson is one of the largest construction and bridge lenders in the country, having recently acquired a $5.7 billion loan portfolio, marking a transformative moment putting us back in banking in a big way.”
“The biggest issue in the world is housing, especially workforce housing. We have 70,000 units involved through ownership and financing, including almost 15,000 affordable and senior units, and we're expanding by acquiring another company in the U.S.”
“I believe the only legacy at the end of the day is how you positively impact the lives of other people. At Kennedy Wilson, I tell everyone to help others with time or money because it's reciprocal and brings great satisfaction.”
“I'm deeply involved with USC's academic initiative helping inner-city children with promise but lacking resources. Last year, 95 kids graduated from the program, many accepted to top universities including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and USC where they attend for free.”
“I think the main lesson for younger people is to be willing to put yourself out there, get out of the office, listen carefully, and have the conviction to act even when many are negative or doubting you.”
“I didn't want to be the dictator of writing a memo that everybody has to come back to the office, so we started three days a week, graduated to four days, and that's what we're doing now.”
“The unintended consequences of COVID were the printing of money everywhere in the world by every government that led to inflation — the only way you could slow it down was to raise interest rates.”
“We got the highest inflation rate in 40 years and we got the highest interest rates in 22 years — that was the deck that everybody in the real estate industry got delivered.”
“The banking industry has stepped back from the real estate industry; private equity and other non‑bank lenders are gravitating into credit — buying bonds, financing deals that would normally be done by banks.”
“For us the credit business has been dominant — we've done a billion dollars of new construction loans to multifamily and student housing, and that lender who had the capital got the best borrowers and the best projects.”
Leadership, Legacy & Bold Moves with Kennedy Wilson's Bill McMorrow In this episode of Building Better Communities with Bob ...
Join hosts Elliot Golan and Vladimir Bosanac as they sit down with Bill McMorrow, Chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson ...
In this episode of Real Talk, I speak with Bill McMorrow, Chairman and CEO of Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW), a leading real estate ...
William McMorrow, Chairman and CEO, Kennedy Wilson, is honored with the honorary doctorate of laws at the Graziadio School ...
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from William Mcmorrow.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →