Aaron Kirman

Aaron Kirman is a Los Angeles-based real estate agent and investor who appears regularly on CNBC's Secret Lives of the Super Rich and stars on CNBC's real estate reality series Listing Impossible.^[1][2][3]

Aaron Kirman
Born	(1978-09-24)September 24, 1978 Encino, California, U.S.
Education	University of Southern California
Occupation(s)	President, Aaroe Estates
Known for	Contributor to CNBC's Secret Lives of the Super Rich, star of Listing Impossible

Early life

Kirman grew up in Encino, California. His father was in trucking and his mother was a teacher. As a child he suffered from learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and a speech impediment that hampered his ability to say the letter R. Kirman says he dreaded the first day of school each year, describing it as "horrible". Kirman also realized at an early age he was gay, which he says made it hard for him to make friends or to succeed in a traditional academic environment.^[2]

Though Kirman's learning disabilities initially prevented him from attending the University of Southern California, a letter he wrote detailing his situation and his desire to attend the university won him an interview and admittance. Kirman graduated with a degree in business and communications.^[2][4]

Real estate

At age 19, while in college at the University of Southern California, Kirman began doing his first real estate deals. He attributes his initial success to luck, as he did not come from a privileged background.^[4]

Since then, Kirman was executive director of the architectural division at real estate brokerage, Hilton & Hyland, then moved on to his position at the John Aaroe Group.^[4] As of 2018, he is president of Pacific Union Luxury Estates Division.^[5][6] In 2019 he was named Compass' president of international estates and added properties in Orange County, Northern California and Italy to his listings.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Kirman also stars in the CNBC reality show, Listing Impossible. The program centers around Kirman and his associates selling multi-million dollar homes and estates.^[3][11][12]

Kirman averages $300 million to $400 million in home sales, has roughly $6 billion in lifetime home sales and is president of Aaroe Estates, the luxury property division of the John Aaroe Group. Kirman has represented Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Orlando Bloom and royal families from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait in real estate transactions.^[2][13] In 2018, the John Aaroe Group, with International and Partners Trust were rebranded as Pacific Union International (acquired by real estate technology company Compass); Kirman was named president of Pacific Union Luxury Estates Division and is currently named Compass' president of international estates.^{[5][6][14][15]}

In addition, Kirman is known for his high-profile estate listings, such as the Danny Thomas estate (which sold for $65 million, the second largest sale in the history of Beverly Hills).^{[2][16][17][18]} Kirman has also represented several historic houses in their sale, including the Case Study 21 house (designed by Pierre Koenig), Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House, as well as houses designed by Richard Neutra, Frank Gehry, Paul Williams, Oscar Niemeyer, Rudolph Schindler and John Lautner.^[19][4] In 2018 his listings also included The Beverly House, a Beverly Hills mansion formerly owned by William Randolph Hearst, and used as locations in the horse head scene of The Godfather as well as The Bodyguard, the Edie Goetz Estate, the Eddie Thomas House and The Mountain Beverly Hills, an undeveloped 157-acre hilltop property formerly owned by Shams Pahlavi, Merv Griffin and Mark R. Hughes and reported to be Los Angeles' most expensive property listing at $1 billion by the Los Angeles Times, Fortune magazine and others.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25]}

In 2024, Kirman argued that Beverly Hills, an extremely affluent neighborhood characterized by lavish mansions, does not have sufficient land for affordable housing.^[26]

References

1. de Moraes, Lisa (29 January 2019). "CNBC Pitches Series About 1%ers Having Trouble Selling Homes – TCA". Deadline.com. from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
2. Smith, Noah (23 April 2016). . Fortune. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
3. Wollard, Deidre (26 February 2020). "Talking Real Estate Investing With Listing Impossible Star Aaron Kirman". fool.com. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
4. Clarke, Katherine (7 July 2016). . The Real Deal. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
5. Hoberman, Natalie (22 May 2018). "Aaron Kirman's growing team to take over Pacific Union office in BH". The Real Deal. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
6. "Aaron Kirman: LA 500". Los Angeles Business Journal. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
7. Clarke, Katherine (9 May 2019). "Tuscan-Style Compound Becomes Napa's Priciest Property". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
8. Clarke, Katherine (11 July 2019). "Laguna Beach Home With Secluded Swimming Cove Asks $35 Million". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
9. Clarke, Katherine (8 August 2019). "This Tuscan Villa Comes With 40 Rooms and a $60 Million Price Tag". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
10. Taylor, Joshua (25 January 2017). "Mega-rich Brit expats put their Californian mansion on the market for £26.3m - including a vineyard, 80ft pool and helipad". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
11. Lynch, Dennis (30 January 2019). "Aaron Kirman's "Listing Impossible" is LA's latest real estate reality TV show". therealdeal.com. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
12. "CNBC PRIME ANNOUNCES BIGGEST SUMMER SLATE YET". CNBC.com. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
13. Stone, Madeline (15 March 2016). . Business Insider. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
14. "It's Official: Pacific Union To Join Compass". Real Trends. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
15. Elkins, Kathleen (17 January 2020). "LA's top real estate agent says this is the biggest misconception about the job". CNBC. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
16. McLaughlin, Katy (25 August 2015). . Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
17. Stone, Madeline (13 February 2017). . Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
18. Taylor, Candace (10 February 2017). . Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
19. Bates, Karen (30 July 2009). NPR. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
20. Jackson, Candace (4 October 2018). "Beverly Hills mansion once home to William Randolph Hearst, and honeymoon spot for John and Jacqueline Kennedy, is back on market at $135 million". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
21. Jackson, Candace (28 July 2018). "Would You Pay $1 Billion for This View?". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
22. Segarra, Lisa Marie (28 July 2018). "Los Angeles' Most Expensive Real Estate Listing Aims to Get $1 Billion". Fortune. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
23. Flemming, Jack (28 July 2018). "Billion with a 'b': Prized Beverly Crest acreage aims for $1,000,000,000". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
24. Flemming, Jack (10 October 2018). "Case Study House No. 21, a glass box and gallery space, seeks $3.6 million". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
25. Zhao, Helen (25 April 2017). "Nicolas Berggruen Purchases Former Edith Mayer Goetz Estate in Holmby Hills for $40 Million". Los Angeles Business Journal. from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
26. Dolak, Kevin (2024-02-15). "Beverly Hills in Crisis as Judge Mandates New Affordable Housing: "People Are Furious"". The Hollywood Reporter.