Ask luxury and celebrity realtor Carl Gambino about the secret to his success that’s led to over $2.5 billion in career sales, and he’ll say it’s due to his passion and love for the industry.
“I work seven days a week and live and breathe real estate,” said Gambino. “What people don’t understand is that real estate is a mind game. You need to set your intentions and goals and then learn all the data, i.e., who is buying and selling, and understand the marketplace thoroughly.”
Gambino noted that there are obstacles to reaching these goals, but with consistency, “you will build a belief in your own abilities … it’s important to remember that clients can pick and choose from thousands of agents and they want to know you’re an expert who they can trust with their assets.”
These values have driven Gambino to launch and grow the Gambino Group at Compass, which operates in six top-selling markets, including Los Angeles, Miami, New York, the Hamptons, North Fork on Long Island, New Jersey and most recently Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The firm’s brand stands for three core values – transparency, honesty and integrity, he said.
Gambino has been recognized as an industry leader on multiple occasions, including being named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 30 Real Estate Agents in its L.A., New York and Miami editions and repeatedly appearing in Variety’s Showbiz Real Estate Elite list. He is also on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2025 Leaders of Influence: Residential Real Estate and Leaders of Influence: Nonprofit & Philanthropy lists.
Gambino represents some of the biggest names in business, sports and entertainment, guaranteeing his clients privacy and discretion.
“I’m personally involved in every deal we do,” he said. “I fly across the country for our showings, and when I take a listing, it’s exposed across multiple markets.”
Among his most notable transactions are the $55 million sale of 71 Beverly Park in which he represented the seller and this year’s $51.8 million sale of 942 North Alpine Drive for a buyer. Both properties were in Beverly Hills.
He was also involved in the record-breaking $42 million sale of the co-listed property Trousdale Estates and the $16.55 million sale of 948 N. Orlando Ave. in West Hollywood and co-represented actor Mark Wahlberg in the $55 million sale of his Beverly Park mansion.
Some of the group’s current and most exclusive listings in the L.A. area are 133 S. Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills ($59.9 million), 1309 Davies Drive in Beverly Hills (nearly $50 million) and 1480 Capri Drive in Pacific Palisades ($21.9 million).
While his success stems from a series of deliberate steps supported by daily motivational readings and podcasts, he didn’t originally set out to become a realtor. In fact, it was a mix of fortunate accidents and a childhood fascination with buildings that led him into the industry. Born in New York, Gambino was raised in the New Jersey communities of Cliffside Park and Lincoln Park. He didn’t come from wealth; his mother was a teacher, and his father was a bank teller.
“I didn’t have a life plan,” said Gambino. “In high school, I thought I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. But I was always obsessed with real estate and architecture. When I was young, I would have friends drive me around to look at brownstones and mansions (in the neighborhood).”
Although he had an interest in real estate, some of his earlier jobs in New York included handing out flyers for a locksmith, selling advertisements for a local magazine and working the coat check at Craft Steak. Then one night, he met a guy at a party who reminded him of Alec Baldwin’s character in the film “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
“He had a license plate that said ‘closer,’ and he told me that I should get into real estate,” said Gambino. “So, I started doing commercial and multi-family sales in New York City. I worked for legendary commercial broker, Adelaide Polsinelli at Marcus & Millichap whom I credit with giving me life changing self-development material to read.”
Following that period, Gambino entered the apartment rental business, but he eventually decided to leave it. He moved to L.A., where he worked as a dog walker, and he was soon introduced to John Bercsi, the largest real estate developer on the Westside, specializing in high-end estates and historic property renovations. Gambino then became Bercsi’s assistant on various projects.
“It didn’t take long to see he was incredibly smart and great with people, so I pulled him off the building sites to work with me on the development side,” said Bercsi, who is an agent at Compass, adding that he also respected Gambino’s New York work ethic. “He had this insatiable desire to learn all aspects of the business and had a natural instinct for real estate you can’t learn.”
Gambino has “a great nose for dirt as we say in the business” and “a charm” that easily gained clients’ trust, Bercsi said.
Overall, Bercsi believed that Gambino ought to be selling homes rather than building them.
“So, I urged him to get his license,” he said.
Gambino shared that his now wife, interior designer Sarah Ivory, also encouraged him to jump back into real estate.
Bercsi eventually introduced Gambino to Kurt Rappaport, co-founder and chief executive of Westside Estate Agency (WEA) which has offices in Beverly Hills and Malibu.
With his license in hand, Gambino met with Rappaport, who according to Bercsi hired him “on the spot” to work for his agency WEA, which he co-founded with Stephen Shapiro.
“When I met Carl, he was special,” said Rappaport. “He had raw determination and was a natural dealmaker. With an obsession for stats and people there was no holding him back. …When Carl started at WEA (in 2015) he could be in the room with anyone and hold his own.”
Rappaport said that within a couple of years they were closing deals on both coasts. “Carl will always tell you the truth and that’s why people love working with him. Like learning a new language, Carl could learn any new market in a short period,” Rappaport said, adding “it was clear he wouldn’t limit his talents to just one city.”
Gambino said he learned a great deal from both Rappaport and Shapiro while working for WEA, where he represented high-profile clients and gained expertise in the luxury real estate industry. In 2019, he achieved record-breaking sales in Encino, representing Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner in their $14.1 million purchase. He then resold the property for them in 2021 for $15.2 million.
When Gambino joined Compass in 2020, he brought along a celebrity clientele list that included Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Styles. The Gambino Group, which he founded, has expanded to a team of 32 members. He collaborates with his team on self-development, goal setting and business development.
When it comes to new hires, Gambino personally meets with any potential agent recruits himself to understand their work ethics and goals.
“Our brand represents excellence, and each agent is an extension of us,” he said.
Gambino and his team serve as advisers to all their clients, and it’s common for him to represent the same client in multiple deals across different markets, he said. For example, he mentioned selling a home in L.A. for almost $36 million and a townhouse in Manhattan for about $23 million.
“That’s the advantage of working with a group that has the ability to expose properties nationally and internationally,” he said.
Though he boasts pocket listings worth (upwards of – not sure you need it) $45 to $70 million, he represents clients at all transaction levels – including from $1 million homes to $50 million homes.
Although Gambino and his team continue to engage in record-breaking transactions, the business has encountered some challenges. For instance, when the controversial real estate transfer tax Measure ULA (United to House L.A.), often called the “mansion tax” took effect in 2023, Gambino acknowledged that it did have an impact.
The measure initially imposed a 4% tax on sales above $5.15 million and a 5.5% tax on transactions of $10.3 million and above. That threshold is now $5.3 million and $10.6 million and above, respectively.
“Like most places, we had clients rapidly selling properties before it took effect and clients who decided not to sell,” said Gambino. “People have slowly adapted.”
Gambino also expects the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to cut short-term interest rates by a 0.25% will have a positive impact on the industry.
“Any rate cut will stimulate some activity in the market,” said Gambino.
And while transactions are the focus of his business, he has gone the extra mile to assist his clients during times of crisis. After this year’s wildfires, the Gambino Group introduced its complimentary Concierge Relocation Service, connecting clients with vital resources and contacts to help them in relocating to other neighborhoods or states where the group operates.
“The service has gotten a lot of traction,” he said.
Outside of real estate, Gambino is a motivational speaker and an active art collector. His art collection includes emerging and contemporary painters. Known as the silent closer, he’s amassed over 100 works by artists such as Robert Nava, Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, David Hockney, Sholto Blissett, Cynthia Talmadge, Yvette Mayorga, Charlotte Keates and Kate Pincus-Whitney.
As a patron, he connects high net-worth clients with emerging artists, funding studio spaces and supporting art initiatives. Gambino continues to inspire audiences around the country as a motivational speaker for companies, events and podcasts.
“Just last week I joined him as he spoke to 500 agents about his path to success and the manifestation and attraction tools he uses to develop himself and his team tools he has taught me to use,” said Bercsi. “While sitting in the audience I was overcome with a mixture of pride and admiration … The student had become the teacher.”
As he looks toward the future, Gambino plans to continue to expand the Gambino Group team, which also features international listings for exclusive properties in Sardinia, Italy, Algarve, Portugal and St. Barthélemy.
“To me real estate is the most exciting and interesting business possible,” said Gambino. “Every day I get to interact with some of the most prolific people in every field and learn something new.”