Pérez was an economic development director with the city of Miami before he decided to enter the real estate business and became a developer. In 1979, he founded The Related Companies with New York builder Stephen M. Ross. Pérez built his fortune by building and operating low-income multifamily apartments across Miami, then branched off into rental apartments before becoming one of the most prolific high-rise condo builders in the Southern United States. Pérez has owned 50 condo towers in various stages of completion in South Florida, Fort Myers and Las Vegas. He is known as the "Donald Trump of the Tropics".