It has been nearly four decades since Gary Keller co-founded Keller Williams. But in all those years as a real estate firebrand his influence remains so strong that, on Tuesday morning, he managed to nab the top spot on the latest Swanepoel Power 200 ranking of industry leaders.

The rankings, shared exclusively in advance with Inman, are an annual tradition from consulting firm T3 Sixty and are named for the firm’s chairman and CEO Stefan Swanepoel. A statement notes that while there is some subjectivity inherent in the rankings, they aim to reflect “an assessment of who in the industry wields the most power — not just by the size of the company, but their connections within the industry, the resources they have to bring to bear on efforts, their track record with extra weight given to the past year and their perceived prospects for the following year.”

T3 Sixty ultimately spent about 500 hours considering thousands of executives as it compiled the list. This year’s rankings are meant to reflect the real estate industry as it existed on Dec. 31, 2021.

This is not the first time Keller has taken the crown and in fact he has remained in the top five every year since the rankings debuted in 2014. However, last year Zillow co-founder and CEO Rich Barton scored the number one spot in the rankings. Barton fell to sixth place this year.

Despite Barton’s fall, Zillow President Susan Daimler made her debut in the rankings this year and ultimately nabbed the 28th spot. Other new additions include Side co-founder and CEO Guy Gal, at 47, REX Real Estate CEO Jack Ryan, at 75, HomeLight founder and CEO Drew Uher, at 85, and Rocket Homes Real Estate CEO Doug Seabolt, at 100.

Several leaders also made significant jumps in the rankings. Most notable among them was CoStar CEO Andy Florance, who rose from the 100th spot last year to number 15 this time around. T3 Sixty’s statement notes that Florance rose thanks to “his company’s continued big industry moves, most notably its acquisition of Homes.com in 2021.” The fact that Florance repeatedly fanned the flames of a rivalry with Zillow also probably didn’t hurt his standing, given that it generally raised his profile and earned him many new fans in the agent community.

Other leaders who rose in the rankings include eXp Realty CEO Jason Gesing, who climbed from 43 to 31, and Carl Liebert, CEO of Keller Williams holding company kwx, who rose from 154 to 103.

Speaking of the rankings, Swanepoel noted in Tuesday’s statement that this is “certainly one of the most dynamic and exciting times to be a leader in residential real estate.”

The rankings are a mark of prestige for those who land on the list, but are also a gauge of both what has happened in the industry and what might come in the future. It’s likely no coincidence that Barton dropped several slots, for example, shortly after his company abandoned its iBuying efforts. And Liebert’s star rose, according to the statement, as his company prepares “for a possible public offering” — something that happens to be among the most watched stories in the industry.

In the statement, T3 Sixty executive editor Paul Hagey ultimately concluded that the rankings provide “a valuable mirror for the industry by identifying the leaders most significantly guiding it.”

Here are the full rankings:

1. Gary Keller, Keller Williams

Keller co-founded Keller Williams in the early 1980s and both his work and his writing has at this point influenced several generations of real estate agents. More recently he has also pivoted to turn Keller Williams into a technology company, among other things. Neither he nor other executives at Keller Willams have confirmed that an initial public offering is coming, though many outside observers anticipate that it is. Keller has also recently taken stands on a variety of other topics, including urging agents to get vaccinated for the coronavirus pandemic.

T3 Sixty’s statement notes that Keller regained the top spot this year thanks to his “steadfast leadership amid a turbulent year.”

In a statement Tuesday, Keller described his win as “a clear win-win for our entire Keller Williams family.”

“I’m extremely proud to be in business with each of our team members and market center and agent partners,” Keller said. “No one succeeds alone, and this is truly a shared moment in recognition of our continued achievements together.”

Keller currently serves as the executive chairman of kwx.

2. Glenn Sanford, eXp World Holdings

Glenn Sanford founded eXp more than 12 years ago after a period at Keller Williams, where he was a mega agent and team leader. At eXp, however, Sanford didn’t just replicate his old company’s business model. Instead, he created something entirely new that includes a virtual world, a lack of brick-and-mortar infrastructure, and innovative stock-based compensation. The result has so far been one of real estate’s most remarkable success stories, with the company recently passing 65,000 agents.

Sanford expects that number to keep rising, and T3 Sixty’s statement notes that eXp “exploded in 2020 and 2021,” adding that very few companies have pulled off similar growth.

Sanford currently serves as the CEO of eXp Realty parent company eXp World Holdings.

3. Ryan Schneider, Realogy

Ryan Schneider joined Realogy as CEO more than four years ago, and has consequently been at the helm during major moments such as the reorganization and rebranding of Realogy-owned Coldwell Banker. Over the last year, as many publicly traded real estate companies’ stock prices were withering, Realogy managed to buck the trend and saw its price rise.

Realogy nabbed fewer headlines than some other companies in 2021, but T3 Sixty’s statement notes that the company’s “stabilization is one of the underreported and under-appreciated stories in real estate over the past year and Schneider, who took the helm of the company in 2018, is largely responsible for turning the company around from near disaster.”

4. Gino Blefari, HomeServices of America

Gino Blefari founded California’s Intero Real Estate Services twenty years ago, then ended up at HomeServices of America when it acquired his firm in 2014. He has held a variety of roles since, but for the last three years has served as CEO of HomeServices of America. Blefari’s appointment to the top spot came at a time when HomeServices of America — which is the own-side brokerage subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway — was undergoing immense growth.

In March, HomeServices of America nabbed the top spot on the RealTrends 500 list, which ranks companies according to transaction sides. It was the third straight year the company topped that ranking.

5. Robert Reffkin, Compass

Robert Reffkin is one of the best-known leaders in real estate today, thanks largely to the rapid growth of his company Compass. He serves as the company’s CEO. The brokerage has focused on creating a tech ecosystem, and has aggressively pursued top-performing agents and teams — a practice that has incited the ire of many rivals.

Compass went public in 2021, though it has also been among a group of companies that experienced stock price declines over the past several months. Still, Reffkin has remained the face of the company and a vocal champion for its vision of real estate.

6. Rich Barton, Zillow

Rich Barton co-founded Zillow back in 2004 and served as the company’s CEO for several years before departing to work on other ventures. He returned in 2019 and over the ensuing years steered the company during its Zillow 2.0 project — which among other things included a prominent experiment with iBuying. That experiment failed, though 2021 wasn’t a total wash; earlier in the year Zillow bought showing management company ShowingTime, which was one of the biggest stories of the last 12 months.

Barton’s most recent tenure at Zillow hasn’t progressed without bumps, but he has made it clear that the portal will evolve.

7. Eric Wu, Opendoor

Eric Wu started iBuyer Opendoor back in 2014, and he remains its CEO today. The company has since grown to become the largest dedicated iBuyer in the market, and it remains vastly larger than rivals such as Offerpad and Redfin. Up until late 2021, Opendoor’s biggest rival was Zillow, and the demise of the portal’s iBuying program meant that for the time being Wu’s company won the battle for supremacy.

Opendoor is still chasing profitability, and in the wake of Zillow’s stumble it has been at the center of a debate about iBuying’s viability. But the company insists that it is on firm footing and its recent earnings reports show growing revenues.

8. Glenn Kelman, Redfin

Glenn Kelman joined Redfin at the company’s president and CEO in 2005, and he remains in that position today. Over the years, Redfin has become known for taking a slower and more conservative approach to growth than rivals such as Zillow. That means the company generates fewer headlines and fireworks than some other companies, but also that it has managed to avoid pitfalls akin to what happened to Zillow’s iBuying.

In 2021, Redfin acquired RentPath for $608 million. Kelman himself has also become one of the most outspoken advocates for change in the real estate industry to address lingering problems such as discrimination and unequal access to housing.

9. Adam Contos, RE/MAX

Adam Contos began his career with RE/MAX in 2004. He initially served in a regional role and gradually worked his way up into senior management. He became the company’s sole CEO in early 2018.

RE/MAX has long been known for its franchise-based business model, and for its relative stability compared to other big names in the industry. Last summer, RE/MAX made its largest acquisition ever when it bought RE/MAX Integra. That deal quickly paid off, with RE/MAX’s 2021 third quarter earnings hitting all-time record highs.

On Tuesday, Contos announced he was departing RE/MAX at the end of March.

10. Hoddy, Helen and Hoby Hanna, Howard Hanna Real Estate

Three family members and leaders of Howard Hanna Real Estate share the final spot on the Swanepoel Power 200: Chairman Hoddy Hanna, CEO Helen Hanna Casey, and President Hoby Hanna. Together, the trio steers what their website describes as the “largest private real estate company in the United States.”

In 2021, Howard Hanna expanded its reach by buying a stake in one of Indiana’s biggest brokerages, and it picked a bone with Compass over recruiting tactics. The company, and the three executives, also weathered tragedy when company founder Howard Hanna Jr. — father to Hoddy and Helen and grandfather to Hoby — died at 101.

Here’s the full Swanepoel Power 200 ranking:

Update: This post was updated after publication with a statement from Gary Keller, and with the news that Adam Contos is leaving RE/MAX. Inman also updated the titles of two Douglas Elliman executives. 

Email Jim Dalrymple II