How I earn millions in rent from real estate
From poker pro to successful real estate investor: Marco Mattes has built up an impressive portfolio and achieved monthly rental income of 10.5 million euros. With BI+ you will find out how he uses his poker experience in the real estate industry and what pragmatic attitude helps him to succeed.
Marco Mattes is 37, comes from Bad Kreuznach and has been working in the real estate industry for years. 15 years ago he made a name for himself by representing Germany in the World Poker Championship.
On the way back from a poker tournament, a competitor laughed at him. He said: “It's great for you that you won. But the prize is only a fraction of the money I earn from my real estate.” That made Mattes curious.
He now owns several companies. Most recently, he bought a portfolio of 31 properties in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate from AOK. The properties offer 65,000 square meters of rental space.
The year is 2009. The poker world is looking to Las Vegas, where the World Series of Poker is taking place. Experts from Germany are particularly focused on a young man wearing a white shirt, a checked scarf and a cap: It is Marco Mattes, the to reach the final He failed, but no German had ever made it that far before him. The 22-year-old finished the World Championship in 23rd place and pocketed prize money of around 323,000 euros.
The success was exactly 15 years ago. Marco Mattes has now exchanged the colorful chips for purchase contracts, expert reports and letters from the notary. Las Vegas has become Bad Kreuznach. A smart suit replaces the, well, somewhat extravagant outfit. And instead of poker cards, real estate has become his focus. As an investor, the 37-year-old owns a total of 95 properties that bring in monthly rental income of 10.5 million euros (Business Insider got an insight).
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Marco Mattes grew up in a quiet environment. He earned his first money by delivering the local newspaper.
The young man from Rhineland-Palatinate later became a poker player and began to earn good money from it. During that time, he learned a lot that still influences him today as a real estate investor. “I'm a doer and don't think too much. I rely on my gut feeling because I've learned that it knows a lot more than my thoughts,” he says.
It was through poker that he first became aware of real estate – to be precise, through his former landlord. “We played poker together and flew to a tournament in Bulgaria. I won and he lost a lot of money,” says Marco Mattes. On the flight back, his landlord told him how he earns a fixed amount every month with 400 residential units – “regardless of whether he wins or loses at poker. That got me thinking,” he says.
The 37-year-old didn't do anything at first. But that was about to change a while later. In an interview with Business Insider, the man from Bad Kreuznach revealed the pragmatic attitude that enabled him to become successful in the real estate industry. Because for Marco Mattes, “think big” is more than just an empty phrase.