A Toronto-based rental property giant whose CEO once made headlines for his opinions on his young customer base has just been bought out for a cool $3.5 billion U.S.

Gary Berman, President and CEO of Tricon Residential, is in charge of more than a whopping 38,000 rental properties across Canada and the U.S., which he largely leases out to millennial-age folks who he says would rather spend their money on "lifestyle" purchases than a home.

"I think if you asked a lot of millennials, they would probably tell you they don't necessarily desire to own a home or to own a car," the executive went viral for saying on 60 Minutes in 2022.

"What's important to them is lifestyle, right? And so if they can move into this, what we call, a turnkey or a hotel-ready home and have a low-maintenance lifestyle, that's very compelling for them."

Good. He has contributed greatly to the housing crisis in the city. He should be forced to sell the vast majority of his 30000 properties.

— Ben (@Canhistoryrules) March 29, 2022

Of course, millennials did not react well to the comments, especially coming as they did after Tricon saw revenues increase by 67 per cent year-over-year, with Berman paying himself a generous $5 million annual salary before bonuses — which is nothing compared to what he's getting in this latest deal.

Tricon will now be taken over by New York City's Blackstone Inc., which calls itself the world's largest alternative asset manager, in charge of an unfathomable $1 trillion.

The firm will see through the completion of the $3.5 billion in single-family homes and apartments that Tricon currently has under construction both north and south of the border, and will be investing another $1 billion into existing properties.

It will also be taking the publicly-traded Tricon private.

CEO of over-leveraged Tricon Gary Berman,who believes millennials "just need to work harder" to buy ridiculously over priced Canadian housing, runs the housing business his father started. Lol. Here's a pony for you Gary. https://t.co/qGwUhtpSDX

— scottcbell (@scottcbell) April 5, 2022

"We are excited that our capital will propel Tricon's efforts to add much-needed housing supply across the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada," Blackstone exec Nadeem Meghji said in a press release that also quoted Berman.

Unlike that last interview, Berman had no controversial comments about millennials who are apparently choosing to rent from companies like his forever.

Tricon buildings in Toronto include the bougie Selby at Bloor and Sherbourne, The Taylor at Spadina and Wellington, the Ivy at Yonge and Bloor, and more, with six new ones on the way in the Canary District, Rosedale, Corktown and the Junction.