That story is from 2 years before Trump's inauguration.
Your headline (my bold):
Dianne Feinstein's Husband's Real Estate Firm Poised to Make $1 Billion Selling Post Offices
is false.
Blum did not run for reelection to the CBRE (CBG) board last year.
(He was one of the founders of the company in 2001, as described below, in last year's proxy statement restatement of its Articles of Incorporation). In 2001 it was a consolidation of local CB offices, that paved the way for it to go public.
From Annex B, page B-1 of the 2016 Proxy Statement:
CBRE Group, Inc. (the “Corporation”), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, hereby certifies as follows:
A. The name of the Corporation is CBRE Group, Inc. The Corporation was originally incorporated under the name “BLUM CB Holding Corp.” The Corporation’s original certificate of incorporation was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on February 20, 2001. The Corporation filed Certificates of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on March 26, 2001 and June 4, 2001 and a Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on June 29, 2001, in each of the foregoing cases under the name “CBRE Holding, Inc.” The Corporation filed a Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on February 13, 2004 changing the name of the Corporation to “CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc.” The Corporation filed a Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on May 4, 2004, June 7, 2004 and June 16, 2004. The Corporation filed a Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on June 4, 2009. The Corporation filed a Certificate of Ownership and Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on October 3, 2011 changing the name of the Corporation to CBRE Group, Inc.
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The United States Post Office does not "sell" Post Offices.
They market them for ground leases to improve income (to GSA), and improve the local area, which is what The Trump Organization did for GSA after it bought the ground lease in DC for the Old Post Office, and spent hundreds of millions of Dollars improving the property. Trump owns about 77% and his 3 adult children own the other 23%, and the property entity pays GSA $3 million a year for 60 years.
The conflict I see is a negative conflict that Donald (and TPO) cannot bid for any of those $19 billion of properties.
Ascribing the whole 6% commission to Blum, ignoring the other brokers involved within CB Group, and other brokers on the buyer sides, and the fact that all insiders only own ~1.23% of CBG, ignores Vanguard, Blackrock, FMR, and other large holders.
This has dragged on since 2009, so Donald will get to look at it, and make a better deal for the United States. |
