What Trio of Things Would Our 2026 Lenders Take With Them to a Desert Island?

Sure, you think of our lenders on an island, and you’re probably imagining them sunning themselves in the lap of luxury: white sand beaches, turquoise water, one waiter serving them a mai tai and another fanning them with a palm leaf.

But, what if the experience was more “Castaway” then a luxury getaway? Could they survive without their creature comforts, and which three items would they bring along to ensure they survived another day to make another loan? And would they have a “Wilsoooon”?

Toby Cobb, co-founder of 3650 Capital, is packing his pole spear, a good knife and sunscreen. (How sensible!) “Spear-fishing would be key to my survival,” Cobb said. Seeing as a shark once ate a fish off the end of said spear rather than catch a fish itself (lazy, much?) we don’t doubt his hunting prowess one bit.

Dwight Investment Management’s Jai Agarwal has a bit of a head start, having attended boarding school in a remote, mountainous region rather than a concrete jungle. As such, he’s bringing a Swiss Army knife, a sturdy pair of shoes and a photo of his family. “My survival skill is resourcefulness. You make the most of what you’ve got,” he said.

Coming for Agarwal’s Castaway crown is Brookfield’s Nailah Flake, who shares the same survival skill. “I’m pretty good at figuring things out, especially when things don’t go according to plan,” Flake said. (We’re sure that comes in handy when the market throws the equivalent of a rescue plane flying overhead in the dead of night at you.)

Flake is packing “a cooler stocked with sparkling water and fresh fruit (and maybe a bottle of wine), a ridiculously comfortable lounge chair and a really good book. “I figure I should have something to keep me hydrated, something to keep me comfortable, and something to keep me entertained.” Heck, Flake, we like your style.

In a list that “Alone” producers would be proud of, Wells Fargo’s Steven Caldwell selected “a fire starter, a machete and a large container for rainwater. I really enjoy building things, so between shelter, traps for food and living room furniture, I think I’d be living somewhat comfortably in no time. Maybe I’d even want to stay on the island?”

Side note: If he doesn’t stay marooned, we know who we’re calling next time we have an Ikea order delivered.

Tim Johnson is also going the HGTV route — inspired by Blackstone’s May launch of a homebuilder lending platform — and bringing a hammer, nails and wood. For him, the marooning would merely be an opportunity to further expand Blackstone’s footprint: “We expect the platform to support the expected construction of 50,000 new homes annually to help address America’s housing shortage, so one more wouldn’t be too much of a challenge.”

Jason Kollander is “at it” as they say in Scotland — that is, pushing his luck. BDT & MSD’s head of real estate credit said he’d bring “a Dell laptop and charger with hot spot, a satellite phone and unlimited Tony Dragon’s (IYKYK),” and counts these as three items. We count those items as somewhere between four and … well, unlimited. And, with a 4.8 rating on Google, we assume that Kollander will likely never tire of Tony’s (but we do hope they deliver long distance).

From his list, you can probably tell that Kollander will remain fully connected and be hustling until he’s rescued. “Let’s be honest, I would probably just be on calls to see who owns the island and if we could finance it,” he said.

Chris Lawton showed us his work. “AI told me it should be a knife, some sort of fire starter and a pot to cook in and boil water. That sounds correct, but I would really need a book. So, let’s assume I’ll figure out how to make fire by rubbing sticks together. I’ll swap out the fire starter for a book that I can read over and over.” We applaud Lawton for telling AI “Poppycock!” and also for giving us his own, human three: A survival knife, a pot and the book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

Finally, Acore Capital’s Tony Fineman is buttering us up with his answer, choosing “a knife, a satellite phone, and the 12 most recent print versions of Commercial Observer.” As long as those issues aren’t being used for fire kindling, we’re here for it, Fineman.

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.

Source: commercialobserver.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.