COVER STORY
JOE FAIRLESS
PASSION WITH A PURPOSE Joe Fairless on sampling life and being his best ever
BY KATIE BEAN
n his early days of real estate investing, Joe Fairless was living in an unairconditioned apartment, attending Rich Dad Poor Dad
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seminars and taking improv and standup classes. Each was a formative experience that led to his national success as a real estate investor, businessman, author, and famed podcaster of the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show. AROOMWITHOUTAVIEW After graduating from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Fairless headed to New York City to begin his career in advertising. It was his perception that the best advertising firms were in New York, and he wanted to work with the best. He got a job working on Madison Avenue — famously known for the “Mad Men” of the mid-20th century. With his first job came a salary of about $30,000 per year. “At the time, my paycheck and rent were about the same,” Fairless said. That didn’t leave him much room for saving. He also had about $18,000 in student loans. “I had to make it happen.” Working tirelessly, Fairless did make it happen. He became the youngest vice president of a New York ad agency. But as his stature at work rose, he didn’t follow suit in his living situation. After one year in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood, Fairless lived in East Village for nine years. His apartment had two bedrooms — one without
22 | think realty magazine :: june 2020
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