Ryan Serhant launched his real estate empire with earnings from $150-an-hour hand modeling—now he brokers nine-figure penthouses for billionaire clients

Ryan Serhant’s visibility is constant—and that constant presence is very deliberate.

The 41-year-old may be familiar from his nine seasons on Million Dollar Listing New York, his own series Owning Manhattan, or from for-sale signs carrying his name as his real estate empire grows to over a dozen states.

However, this success was not instantaneous.

Upon college graduation, Serhant’s goals were humble. He lacked a defined career trajectory or grand strategy. His sole objective was to relocate to New York City and work out the details afterward.

“It wasn’t about finding happiness. It wasn’t about chasing success,” Serhant told . “At least initially, it was, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.”

To achieve this, he used meager savings from working on a Colorado ranch and accepted any job to survive. These roles included hand modeling for $150 an hour—funds he later invested in his initial real estate projects—and distributing up to 500 flyers daily for Equinox gym.

The flyer job wasn’t for the income. In return, Serhant received free gym membership and, crucially, exposure to its wealthy members.

This was an early education in a networking tactic he still advocates. Serhant adheres to his “two Cs” rule: always give a compliment and discover a commonality.

This attitude applied to more than just gyms and auditions. “I never wanted to be beholden to anyone else,” Serhant said. “I never wanted a boss who could hire me one day and fire me the next. I wanted to create something of my own.”

Create something he certainly did. Now, Serhant is CEO of SERHANT, a brokerage that surpassed $6 billion in sales last year and routinely lists penthouses worth hundreds of millions to billionaire purchasers.

Serhant’s secret to building a national brand—while never forgetting his roots

Entering the real estate field is famously challenging. Annually, thousands of new agents join, and many leave, pointing to irregular income, fierce rivalry, and exhaustion.

Serhant understood that merely selling properties would be insufficient.

“I believed even early on, the brand was never going to be about the property, but was going to be about the person,” he said.

This belief influenced all aspects, from his social media and TV work to how he built his firm. While many CEOs step back from direct sales after reaching executive level, Serhant is committed to remaining involved in the foundational work that brought his success. This is why he continues to sell real estate personally—even with hundreds of agents under his management.

“I think it’s really important for CEOs to never let go of the thing that got them there in the first place,” he added.

In the past year alone, Serhant has represented Andy Cohen in the sale of his $12 million West Village apartment, Dave Portnoy in the purchase of a $27.75 million Florida Keys home, and a British investor in the acquisition of a $72 million Palm Beach mansion.

Nevertheless, each day is not as effortless as it might appear to his millions of television and social media fans.

“I have tough days all the time. Every day is tough,” Serhant said. “I would not wish ‘CEO’ on anyone.”

His motivation isn’t solely financial, which he describes as a “moving target,” but the understanding that each new day offers a chance to enact change and pursue objectives. Without clear goals, work feels interminable: “Otherwise I feel like I wake up running a marathon with no end in sight.”

Looking to 2026, Serhant aims to explore new creative avenues while growing SERHANT into a brokerage led by artificial intelligence. With intentions to more than triple its presence across states, he continues to rely on the same forward drive that propelled him from distributing gym flyers to closing deals worth nine figures.