Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Data Center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)Founded 2004

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Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Data Center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)Founded 2004

Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya

Last reviewed: July 2026

Founders

Who Founded Digital Realty Trust?

GI Partners · Founded 2004 · Austin, Texas

Quick Answer

Digital Realty Trust was founded by GI Partners in 2004 in Austin, Texas. The company is currently led by Andy Power.

Founding Story

Digital Realty was incorporated in Maryland in 2004 and built from a GI Partners-backed portfolio of technology-related real estate. Its public REIT model gave it access to capital for acquisitions and development as data-center demand shifted from enterprise server rooms to outsourced, carrier-neutral infrastructure.

GI Partners

Co-founder 2004

Background

GI Partners sponsored the portfolio and corporate structure that became Digital Realty Trust in 2004, turning specialized technology real estate into a public data-center REIT platform.

Role at Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Digital Realty was created from a GI Partners-backed data-center real estate platform and went public in 2004. Its founding model was to own, operate, acquire, and develop technology-related real estate for enterprise and network customers, then use public REIT capital to scale across markets.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

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Andy Power

President and Chief Executive Officer

2022-Present

Leads Digital Realty through the AI, hyperscale, and power-constrained data-center cycle.

William Stein

Former Chief Executive Officer

2014-2022

Led the company through major acquisitions including Telx, DuPont Fabros, and Interxion.

GI Partners

Founding sponsor

2004

Formed the original data-center property portfolio that became Digital Realty as a public REIT.

Who Founded Digital Realty Trust? FAQ

Who founded Digital Realty?

Digital Realty was formed in 2004 from a GI Partners-backed data-center real estate platform.

Why did Digital Realty's founding model matter?

The REIT model gave Digital Realty access to public capital for data-center acquisitions and development.

When did Digital Realty start?

Digital Realty was incorporated and listed as a public REIT in 2004.

How did the founding vision shape Digital Realty?

The original focus on specialized technology real estate shaped its later data-center leasing, acquisition, and development strategy.