H. Schwartz Biography and Net Worth

H. Michael Schwartz is Founder, Chairman and CEO of SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SmartStop), a self-managed REIT with a fully integrated operations team of approximately 500 self-storage professionals focused on growing the SmartStop® Self Storage brand. SmartStop, through a wholly owned subsidiary, also sponsors other self-storage programs, including Strategic Storage Growth Trust III, Inc. and Strategic Storage Trust VI, Inc. SmartStop is the eleventh-largest self-storage company in the U.S., with an owned and managed portfolio of more than 200 properties in 22 states and Canada.

In 2007, Mr. Schwartz founded Strategic Storage Trust, Inc., a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed self-storage company, owning and/or operating 169 self-storage properties in 21 states and Toronto, Canada. In 2015, Mr. Schwartz negotiated the $1.4 billion sale to Extra Space Storage, Inc., the second-largest storage operator in the United States. In January 2019, he successfully negotiated a second full-cycle REIT liquidity event with the all-cash merger of Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc. with Strategic Storage Trust II, Inc. for $12.00 per share. Over the past seven years, Mr. Schwartz has overseen the return of approximately $1.2 billion of equity and profits to investors.

Mr. Schwartz has more than 33 years of experience in real estate, securities and corporate financial management. During the last 22 years, he has transacted more than $6.5 billion in commercial real estate. He is a renowned expert who is frequently invited to speak at national conferences and has been interviewed by major news media.

Mr. Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in finance, from the University of Southern California.