Long-time LA broker and CEO John Aaroe passed away at the age of 73 on Dec. 16, 2025, roughly eight years after he retired from the industry — for the second time.
Aaroe was known for elevating client service and driving agents to meet their fullest potential. In 1998, he “retired” after selling John Aaroe & Associates to Prudential, but the lure of the industry was too great, and Aaroe came back to the fold in 2009 to found the John Aaroe Group (JAG).
Aaroe was named to the first-ever class of Inman’s Golden I Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside Coldwell Banker luxury giant Joyce Rey.
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As news of Aaroe’s passing spread, those who knew him paid tribute to the Southern California icon.
Craig Strong of the Craig Strong Group at Compass praised his former mentor on Instagram with a heartfelt post that asserted “there will never be another.”
“He always knew what to say and when,” Strong wrote. “He made you feel important somehow. He made you see something in yourself that you couldn’t see. He could make you laugh in your darkest moments. He would reach out both in good and hard times as if he knew he was needed. His secret was that he truly cared …”
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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties agent Linda Riha commented on the post, “NOOOOO…my heart is broken!💔”
Sonia Cabrera, an agent at The Agency in LA, also wrote, “Awe [sic] RIP John 💔🙏🏼.”
Milwaukee Brewers co-owner Robert Beyer also commented on Strong’s post, testifying to the relationship the mentor and mentee maintained.
“He was incredibly proud to be associated with you, Craig,” Beyer wrote. “Actually mentioned it recently to me when talking about a presentation you did together. We share these special memories.”
Aaroe started his real estate career in 1975 and was a top agent at Jon Douglas. While there, Aaroe developed the firm’s luxury division, which at that time became the biggest seller of multimillion-dollar homes in the country with over $1.5 billion per year in sales, Inman reported in a story about Aaroe’s retirement in 2017. (Coldwell Banker Realty then acquired Jon Douglas in 1997.)
After founding JAG in 2009, Aaroe grew the firm into a 450-agent brokerage that brought in $2.5 billion in sales volume in 2016. That same year, he led the company’s merger with Pacific Union International. Pacific Union, helmed by CEO Mark McLaughlin, was subsequently acquired by Compass in 2018.
Shortly after launching an office in Calabasas and then shuttering it months later, Aaroe retired again in 2017, and John Aaroe Group was rebranded to Pacific Union. One year later, unable to stay away, Aaroe rejoined Pacific Union in an advisory role and told Inman at that time, “It is not in my nature to totally disengage from the challenges and opportunities this industry has to offer.”
John Aaroe, founder and president of John Aaroe Group, and Aaron Kirman, president of Aaroe Estates, in 2013 | Credit: PRNewsFoto / John Aaroe Group
Inman News founder Brad Inman said in a statement, “John was a giver, not a taker, humble to the bone, a servant-leader and a super fun conversationalist. He was a dear friend of Yaz and me, whom we were lucky to learn from until the end of his amazing life.”
Mark McLaughlin, who is now an M&A Advisor at Compass, said in a statement, “John Aaroe was a gifted leader of people and companies. He led with grace, compassion and his heart. John is revered by thousands of people and will never be forgotten. We have lost a legend, but the memories endure.”
A number of top-earning agents in Southern California joined Aaroe at his companies over the years in a testament to his caliber as an industry leader. Celebrity broker Aaron Kirman joined JAG from Hilton & Hyland in 2013 to lead the firm’s luxury estates division. Top Beverly Hills agent Sally Forster Jones was also affiliated with the firm for a few years before it merged with Pacific Union.
Forster Jones praised Aaroe for his ethical backbone in a statement emailed to Inman.
“He was an amazing leader and a wonderful person,” she wrote. “He had the biggest heart and the clearest vision and would step in and help always. Truly a guiding light in ethics and vision.”
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