Alex Rodriguez once recounted making an expensive property purchase as a young player without much wealth

Alex Rodriguez talks about how he built his real estate career by first buying a small duplex. Rodriguez had an honest conversation about his life and career as a property owner on The Pivot Podcast in April 2022.

"The first property I ended up buying was a small duplex. I was 22 years old. A couple of years later I sold it for double.Then I bought a fourplex, then an eightplex and my biggest investment was when I bought 60 units."

The full video is below:

Rodriguez elaborated on how difficult it was for him growing up, as their family didn't have much money. So when he was finally 22 and was making enough money, he invested it in a duplex.

The former New York Yankees shortstop recalled how he was traumatized from watching his mom work to the bone.

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He said that they had to move every 18 months. So when Rodriguez got enough money, he bought a small duplex that he then sold for twice its acquired price. From then on, he started buying a fourplex, an eightplex, and then finally bought sixty units.

A-Rod recalled how it was a new experience for him as he had bought a three-million-dollar property. Alex Rodriguez stated that he only had two million dollars in his account and he gave half of it as a downpayment.

"I will never forget I had to write a million-dollar check for a downpayment. It was a three-million-dollar property. I had two million dollars in my bank account. I took half of it and wrote it as a downpayment."

He went on to say how this was the beginning of his real estate portfolio. He emphasized how his success was not built overnight, but it took steps in the right direction. And that is how he is able to be where is now today.

Alex Rodriguez said that his mother and sister were his agents

Alex Rodriguez recalled in the same interview how his family didn't have much money but had a lot of grit.

Alex Rodriguez stated that when he was seventeen, he got an offer from the Mariners. They were offering him almost a million dollars, and he was ready to take it. But his mother and sister, who were his agents at the time, refused the offer.

"My mom and sister were my agents.

"My sister is a bull, she is tough, she is like mom. And I was seveteen years olds. They were offering me almost a million dollar, we were broke and I was good with that. But my mom said hell, if they don't give you 1.5 million, you are going to the university of Miami."

He recalled how even though they didn't have the money, his mother insisted on him signing for at least 1.5 million dollars. His family was very confident in Rodriguez's talent and they wanted him to achieve what he was capable of.

That's why they insisted on him getting paid more or going to the University of Miami instead. Alex Rodriguez's sister even went with him to sign the deal off with the Mariners, so he would be paid what he was worth.