Dolf De Roos is a real estate developer and investor. He has written 15 books related to this field and has lectured in over 20 countries.
One of his books, Real Estate Riches, became a New York Times bestseller. He is one of the biggest-selling investment property developers in New Zealand. He has a net worth of $5 million.
| Name | Dolf de Roos |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | November 26th, 1957 (64 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | New Zealand |
| Height: | Unknown |
| Profession: | Real estate developer, investor, writer |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Children: | 1 |
| Parents: | Mother and father unknown |
| Net Worth Estimate: | $5 million |
Net Worth
An exact figure of De Roos’s net worth is unknown. However, it is speculated to be around $5 million. During the stock market crash in 1987, De Roos lost approximately $1 million in shares (1).
De Roos established Property Ventures Limited in 1997.
At its height, the company had assets of more than $250,000,000 in De Roos’s native New Zealand currency or $220,544,137 in American dollars. However, the company faced high debts and was liquidated in 2018 for an unspecified amount.
Company
De Roos established the real estate company Property Ventures Limited on November 3, 1997. They are based in Auckland, and De Roos is the CEO as well as the founder. (2)
The company’s first accessible financial report is from 2001. The following figures are in New Zealand dollars unless otherwise specified.
This report indicates that Property Ventures made $316,787 in net profit, with $4,312,665 in assets and $1,016,416 in property sales. The following year, the company’s net profit almost tripled to $812,327, with assets of $4,696,328, although property sales reduced to $222,222.
In 2003, property sales increased to $1,980,509, net profits were $870,525, and assets totalled $7,051,461. By 2006, Property Ventures Limited’s net profit had fallen to $457,974, although the assets had decreased to $185,405,497. Similarly, the company reported net profits of $8,127,522 in 2007, as well as total assets of $263,592,142.
Additionally, several shares have been issued over its history.
The largest of these is from Atlas Securities Limited, which has 13840803 shares. Following this is the Montpellier Group with 3161374 in shares, as well as Ronald Ernest Whiteley with 1048333.
The lowest amount of shares in the company is from Abigail and Edward Peel, who have 203603 in shares (3).
However, in July 2010, the High Court of New Zealand ordered the company to be liquidated after it faced debts totalling more than $100 million (4).
Eventually, in 2018, the liquidators settled for an unspecified amount out of court (5).
Additionally, Property Ventures Limited had a number of shareholdings in other companies. The majority of these shares were historic for inactive companies.
All of the shares were for companies based in New Zealand, including Cashel Ventures Limited, of which the company has 2000 shares. The group had 100 shares in Montecristo Construction Company Limited, amongst many others.
The company owned several assets, such as the student accommodation property Livingspace. In 2003, it also acquired 60 acres of residential land in Queenstown for development (6).
De Roos also owns another real estate company named Property Prosperity, which was founded in 2007. It is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and has a net worth of approximately $117,121 per year (7).
Earnings
Since De Roos is considered self-employed, all of his earnings come from his work in real estate. He was once offered a job that paid $32,000 per year, but De Roos turned this down to pursue a solo career in real estate (8).
De Roos has authored several books. These are:
- Real Estate Riches
- Dolf De Roos’ Real Estate Investor’s College
- Extraordinary Profits from Ordinary Properties
- Wealth Magnet
- 101 Ways to Massively Increase the Value of Your Real Estate Without Spending Too Much Money
- Commercial Real Estate Investing
- Real Estate Riches How to Become Rich Using Your Banker’s Money
The book sales for each of these are unknown. However, Real Estate Riches was a New York Times bestseller upon release. According to De Roos, it sold over two million copies by 2021. (9)
Real Estate
As a real estate developer and investor, De Roos has previously owned several properties.
It is unclear what De Roos’s first property purchase was. However, he has spoken about it previously and stated that the rent he received “covered more than the mortgage interest, mortgage principal, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance combined.” (10).
In 1980, De Roos purchased a cottage in Queenstown, New Zealand. It was 650 square feet, and he paid approximately $20,000 for it in 1980, or $71,920 in USD today.
Soon after purchasing this property, De Roos began making approximately $160 weekly. This equated to a 33% net return from the day he purchased the property (11).
Later, De Roos achieved a property deal worth approximately $35,000. It is unclear where this was or the size of it, but De Roos accredits it by encouraging him to focus on real estate permanently.
He claims to own properties across the world. These include an apartment in the city centre of Christchurch and a funeral parlour located in Ashburton.
De Roos also owned a vineyard in Queenstown and has stated he owns properties in the United States also. De Roos currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, although his exact address is unknown (12).
Early Life
De Roos was born on November 26th, 1957, in New Zealand. His parents’ names are unknown, as well as the city he was born in. However, he went to kindergarten in Europe, and then later completed high school in several other countries, including Australia and New Zealand. This was because his parents were in diplomatic service.
Career
De Roos began his career in real estate at the age of 17. However, before pursuing these dreams, De Roos continued getting an education.
In the mid-1980s, De Roos gained a PhD in electrical engineering from Canterbury University. Before graduating, De Roos assisted in creating a special sonar system aiming to help deep-sea divers.
During his time as an undergraduate student, De Roos began investing in real estate. By the time he left university, he was a relatively successful real estate developer (13).
Eventually, De Roos decided to establish his own real estate company, named Property Venture, in 1997. The company was relatively successful over the years and had numerous assets. These totalled over $200 million at time (14).
De Roos moved to the United States with his wife and daughter.
While here, De Roos established another property company, named Property Prosperity, in 2007 (15).
However, in 2010, Property Venture had stacked up debs worth over $100 million. As a result, a New Zealand High Court ordered the company to be liquidated. This liquidation was finalised in 2018 for an unspecified amount (16).
De Roos currently works for Property Prosperity in the United States. Outside of working in real estate, De Roos delivers courses and seminars related to his career.
De Roos worked with former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower for four years at some point in his career. He assisted Trump in creating the “Wealth Builder’s” program. He also worked at the University of North Texas for an unknown period as a Professor of Real Estate (17).
Career Highlights
- Began working as a real estate developer during undergraduate
- In 1997, created Property Venture in New Zealand
- In 2007, created Property Prosperity in America
- In 2010, Property Venture was ordered to be liquidated
- In 2018, liquidation was finalised
Personal Life
Not much is known about De Roos’s personal life. He was previously married to an American person, but by 2012, they had divorced for unknown reasons. He has one daughter named Bella, who is approximately 20 years old. The pair currently live in Phoenix, Arizona.
Interesting Facts
- It is unknown why De Roos changed his name to Dolf. However, some have speculated that it is because he was teased for having the name ‘Adolph’, which is very similar to ‘Adolf.’
- De Roos enjoys reading and claims to have read hundreds of books related to real estate. ‘The Sovereign Individual’ by James Davidson Lord Rees-Mogg is the text that has had a significant impact on him.
- De Roos can speak six languages, including English, French, German, Dutch, and Japanese. It is unknown what the last language is.
- De Roos claims that his mentors are Zig Ziegler, Dennis Whitley, and Jim Rohn.
- De Roos says he lives his life according to the mantra, “He who does not read has no advantage over he who cannot read.”
Summary
Dolf De Roos is a real estate developer and investor who owns properties worldwide. He has an extensive experience in property dealings, having previously studied to be an electrical engineer.
He owned two property companies, which were Property Venture and Property Prosperity. He has a net worth of approximately $5 million.