People keep bringing up real estate because everyone thinks the rich are evil and this move must be money related somehow.

Now, I too think they're pretty rotten for the most part.

But returning to office is not about real estate.

Companies are ruthless and if they can increase profits at all, they will do pretty much anything to do so. Firing long-time workers, destroying the planet, etc. So if they had to destroy the real estate market to make more money, they would.

My point here is that if it was just about money, everyone would remain WFH. They could downsize the office, or even lease out the space to the companies that are returning to the office.

So then why are they doing it? It's their preference. They prefer having their underlings in the building and enjoy seeing everyone from their corner office. They like feeling powerful which is harder to do when everyone who works for them is at home.

They might also have the kind of personality where they get more work done with others around, and they can't imagine it being different for other people. Many high-up executives only got that far because they have very extroverted personalities.

Not everything a rich person does is strictly about money. Otherwise they wouldn't buy mansions, supercars, private planes, etc. Apple wouldn't have built the billion dollar donut office. They do these things because they're powerful and want others to know.