ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 14, 2002 — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), "The Monthly Dividend Company," (NYSE:O) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the Company's common stock monthly dividend of $0.19125 per share from $0.19 per share. This is the 18th consecutive quarter in which the Company has increased the amount of the monthly dividend. The dividend is payable on April 15, 2002 to shareholders of record on April 1, 2002. The new monthly dividend amount represents an annualized rate of $2.295 per share. The Company continues its long-term policy of declaring and paying common stock dividends on a monthly, rather than on a quarterly, basis.

Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Office of Realty Income commented, "We are very pleased to have been able to increase the amount of the monthly dividend again this quarter. Our ongoing goal is to produce consistent performance results for our shareholders. Increasing the dividend on a regular basis and remaining dedicated to providing dependable monthly income is the best evidence we can provide of our progress toward this goal."

Realty Income, "The Monthly Dividend Company," is a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. To date the Company has paid 379 consecutive monthly dividend payments throughout its 33-year operating history. The monthly income is supported by the cash flow from 1,122 retail properties owned under long-term lease agreements with leading regional and national retail chains. The Company is an active buyer of net-leased retail properties nationwide.

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