Century 21 Founder Dies Aged 76
Art Bartlett, the founder of real estate franchise Century 21, died in California on December 31 at the age of 76 years old.
Bartlett had battled Alzheimer’s disease as well as other illnesses and died at his Coronado home in San Diego County on New Year’s Eve, his daughter Stacy Bartlett Renshaw said.
Art changed the landscape of the residential real estate sales industry by helping small independent brokers unite under the Century 21 real estate franchise, allowing them to share advertising, training, contracting and selling.
“Correct or not, consumers have confidence in the big, brand name,” Bartlett told the Los Angeles Times in 1982. Art believed that he could provide local brokers with a national brand in the Century 21 real estate franchise.
Art Bartlett sold Century 21 in 1979 to Trans World Corp. for $89 million and Today, Century 21 has more than 120,000 sales agents in 7,700 franchise offices across the globe, making it one of the largest real estate franchise systems in the world!
In addition to his daughter, Bartlett is survived by his wife, Nancy; his stepson, Larry Wells; granddaughter, Bella Collette Renshaw; brother, Ray, and sister, Millie Schneider.
