Thinking outside the box with Gavin Rubinstein #53 Ben Bandari
In this episode, Gavin sits down in Dubai with Ben Bandari, one of the city’s most recognisable real estate figures and the driving force behind Million Dollar Listing Dubai. With over two decades in the market, Ben has witnessed and helped shape Dubai’s transformation from a desert outpost into one of the most dynamic real estate arenas in the world
From delivering pizzas in Vancouver to closing half-a-billion-dollar deals, Ben’s journey is built on belief, relentless hustle and an obsession with being number one. He shares what it took to survive market crashes, rebuild after losing half his wealth, launch multiple businesses during COVID, and leverage global exposure to scale across brokerage, development and investment.
Episode Breakdown
00:00 – 03:00
Introduction to Ben and his 23-year journey in Dubai real estate
03:00 – 06:00
Arriving in Dubai in the early 2000s — culture shock, no social media, pure hustle and building business through cold calling and hotel networking
06:00 – 08:00
Selling the dream of Dubai before it was built. Belief, conviction and backing a vision others doubted
08:00 – 10:00
Career mistakes, inconsistency, chasing sign-on bonuses and lessons from the GFC
10:00 – 14:00
Launching his own company during COVID, leveraging Million Dollar Listing exposure, and scaling to 70+ staff across multiple businesses
14:00 – 16:00
Dubai’s explosive growth, investor returns, and why Ben believes the market is still in its early innings
16:00 – 18:00
How Ben brought Million Dollar Listing to Dubai — knocking on doors, pitching developers and executing the biggest deal of his career
18:00 – 20:00
If starting again in 2025: mentorship, rentals, grassroots hustle and earning respect from the ground up
20:00 – 23:00
What separates great agents from average ones — empathy, discipline, competitiveness and playing the long game
23:00 – End
Losing wealth, being told he was “washed up,” reigniting the fire to become number one again, and why Dubai remains the land of opportunity
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