You can take the driver out of the taxi but…

Well, at least in Warren Ebert’s case—you can’t take away the unique perspective, street smarts and valuable insights that enabled him not only to navigate city traffic for hours but also take a major detour and build a $2.4-billion property investment empire.

In the late 1980s, the Sentinel Property Group chief executive was still driving cabs around Brisbane, picking up and dropping off shoppers, visitors, workers and executives from assets he now runs the rule over.