What is ‘servant capitalism’? Meet Peter Rex
Meet upcoming SENT Summit 2024 speaker and Catholic founder and executive: Peter Rex.
Peter’s story starts with a desire to help people from a young age, never one to ignore those in need. Starting in high school, he found himself drawn to serve, spending his free time visiting the homebound elderly.
But Peter was more than just a charitable young man — he had the makings of a business visionary, eventually leading him to found his real estate tech company Rex and become the disruptor and, as Peter calls it, “servant capitalist” he is today.
In 2007, a couple of years after graduating from Georgetown University, Peter began pursuing his JD at Harvard Law School. He was there when disaster struck: the 2008 housing market collapse. Millions lost their homes and the global economy suffered an enormous blow.
But where everyone else saw a money black hole, Peter saw an opportunity: real estate.
Cornering the market
He took a bet. Believing that the market would eventually recover, he started buying and investing in real estate assets that no one had faith in anymore, targeting Florida and, later, Austin, where he would eventually move Rex’s operations and help lead the Tech Migration.
The bet paid off, ultimately launching Peter into massive success with investing, asset management, property management, and construction.
Peter’s opportunistic vision has only grown. From buying Bitcoin after a major cryptocurrency crash to investing in travel assets during the COVID-19 pandemic, he is constantly spying places to buy or invest where no one else is looking.
But his real passion remains real estate. More specifically, leveraging tech to solve critical problems in the industry and help the underserved workers in his field. To do so, he founded Rex.
Despite Peter’s decade of real estate experience, launching Rex, a startup, in 2018 was still a risk. Only 10-20% of startups excel. There was no guarantee of success. But, as ever, Peter had an innovative approach.
If only 1 out of every 10 startups made it, what better way to succeed than by launching 10?
Peter didn’t actually launch 10 separate startups, a mammoth undertaking. Instead, he founded a single enterprise with 10 diversified initiatives targeting the largest, most lucrative problems in real estate.
Rex is born
It turned out to be another smart bet. Now, in 2024, Rex is home to 10 technology companies, each designed to be mobile-first, API-driven, and AI-leveraged.
But even amidst his success, Peter is still that same charity-driven young man inside. He makes “servant capitalism,” a term he coined, the foundation for all of his work.
“When you get things that come to you, you have to figure out, “How can I invest this back and to create things for other people?” Peter explained in an interview with Kevin Roberts. “That’s why I say ‘servant capitalism.’ That is the only way forward.”
Without servant capitalism, Peter believes that our society will suffer. He holds that either the wealth creation machine will crumble and everyone will fall into poverty or we’ll find ourselves victim to “rapacious capitalism,” where those in the 1% will hoard their money and use it to maintain control over others.
That’s why the Rex mission is to empower.
Rex technology isn’t built to make the rich richer — it’s made to empower working people in the real estate world who are underserved by tech, including small business owners, property managers, and vendors like contractors and painters.
Peter is proof that being an entrepreneur can be a form of service. By creating inventive, well-run businesses and leading superior investment decision-making, Peter aims to make a positive impact using his unique talents. He wants to empower people and elevate humanity through his businesses, and then take the profits to invest back into society, creating a continuous cycle of growth and service.
And so far, it’s worked. Peter has built a real estate company with more than 500 employees and 17,000 units under management, distributed more than 1 billion dollars to investors as a real estate investor, and had his business ranked twice in Fortune’s top places to work.
Each of the 10 initiatives at Rex functions to improve the lives of people looking to do good, honest work in the real estate business. Here’s a bite-sized rundown of Rex’s platforms:
OwnProp: Invest in real estate with ease and flexibility through tokenization
PayUp: Faster payment for workers, vendors, and contractors
SmartFuse: So property managers can sync their data across all applications
PropData: Instant access to the most up-to-date property data on the go
InsurePro: For vendors and contractors to easily find the best insurance to cover their work
GetDone: Send work orders from your phone to get them taken care of in a fraction of the time
ShopSupply: Inventory management so you never lose or run out of anything
JobCall: An Interactive Voice Response System to summarize resident property concerns and immediately forward them to the necessary maintenance worker
These programs take down the common barriers to entry and provide the tools to succeed even as a brand-new entrant. That means that the real estate world, from investing to property management to contracting, is now an even playing field where success is accessible to those who chase it.
With a business mind, a charitable heart, and a willingness to take risks, Peter aims to make powerful, positive change in the world.
Want to hone your gifts to do the same? Join us at the SENT Summit this September to hear Peter Rex and other high-caliber speakers at the forefront of Catholic entrepreneurship, connect with other values-driven builders, and more.