Ryan Serhant is a real estate agent and television personality. He’s the founder and CEO of SERHANT, the most-followed real estate brand online. To the masses, he is recognized for appearing in over 70 episodes of Million Dollar Listing New York. Featuring on the show gave Serhant a massive platform to build his career and he grabbed it with both hands.
Serhant was named 15th out of 100 of New York’s most successful real estate brokers. Being an expert at what he does, Serhant is a regular contributor to CNN, Bloomberg TV, and The Today Show. He has also published a book titled, “Sell It Like Serhant,” which is now a national bestseller. As of 2023, Ryan Serhant has a net worth of $30 million!
Life Before Real Estate
Ryan was born on July 2nd, 1984, in Houston, Texas. However, the majority of his childhood was spent in Topsfield, Massachusetts. Serhant attributes his work ethic to his father, John Serhant. As a kid, John paid Ryan and his brother $1.50 an hour to collect firewood and sell it to their neighbors. This taught them the value of hard work at a very young age.
Ryan went to school at Hamilton College, New York and studied English Literature and Theatre. During his time he joined the Delta Kappa Fraternity. Considering his success in real estate, it’s surprising he didn’t study marketing or business.
Acting Debut
Believe it or not, Ryan Serhant didn’t start out in real estate. Initially, he moved to New York City with hopes of becoming an actor but it’s a tough gig. In 2007, he received his first acting role. In “As The World Turns Out,” he played the role of Evan Walsh IV.
However, as you may already guess, Ryan didn’t fancy pursuing acting as a full-time career. Despite this, his talent in front of the camera didn’t go to waste and instead became a reality TV star.
Shifting To Real Estate
Serhant entered the New York real estate market in 2008 against the backdrop of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and the subprime lending crisis.
During his first year as a broker, Ryan only made $9,000 in commissions. But things started to pick up after that. Over the years, Serhant went on to become a top-performing broker at Nest Seekers International. He sold a cool $100 million worth of property in his first two years.
Founding the SERHANT Brokerage
After spending years climbing the corporate ladder, Ryan decided to go out on his own. He started his own brokerage and named it SERHANT. Ryan claims his company is more innovative than traditional brokerages and uses digital marketing to stand out in a crowded space.
At SERHANT, they sell luxury properties that sell for tens of millions. The firm now has over 240 employees and has sold properties worth up to $99.9 million. These achievements gave Ryan the credibility to start selling courses to teach other real estate agents how to be successful.
Million Dollar Listings
By merging all of his passions, Ryan Serhant saw the potential to boost his career in reality TV. In 2010, he auditioned for Bravo’s Million Dollar Listings and got the job. The show became a big hit but sadly won’t be filming a new season anytime soon.
However, how much Ryan made per episode hasn’t been revealed. Still, we can assume he earned a fortune from the publicity from just being on the show. In addition to his salary per episode, Ryan made a 6% commission on every property sold – so for every $1 million he earned $60,000.
