"Don't you feel you're in the presence of greatness?"

I used to love watching A&E's Flip This House.  Richard Davis of Trademark Properties was the original subject of the show, and it was his idea to do a show on real estate investors rehabbing and flipping houses.  The quote above was his from one of the episodes, and was a little over the top, since he was referring to himself.

When I first heard the clip with this quote, I was a little taken aback, but there is something lovable about him, in spite of his enormous ego.

He was my favorite of all the investors featured on the show.  I love Than and Paul, they are down to earth and they started here in New England.  I have done business with them many times.  But Richard was my first love.  He was creative, persistent and innovative.  The show itself was somewhat misleading, because it didn't tell the real story of closing and carrying costs in rehab deals, and painted too rosy a picture of the profit potential.  It was very entertaining, however.

Richard and A&E had a falling out, and according to news stories, they had agreed to pay him 50% of the profits of the show.  There was nothing in writing, it was an oral agreement, but legally enforceable, and Richard won his lawsuit and was awarded a little over $4 million.  A&E appealed, and lost again in a federal appeals court.

Congratulations, Richard Davis, persistence overcomes it all!