ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, February 16, 2000 — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), "The Monthly Dividend Company" (NYSE: O) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a common stock dividend of $0.1800 per share, payable on March 15, 2000 to shareholders of record as of March 1, 2000. The dividend represents an annualized rate of $2.16 per share.

The Board of Directors also declared dividends on the Company's Class B and C preferred stock, which are payable on March 31, 2000 to shareholders of record as of March 15, 2000. The quarterly dividend on the Class B preferred stock is $0.5859 per share, for an annualized rate of $2.34 per share. The monthly dividend on the Class C preferred stock is $0.1979 per share for an annualized rate of $2.375 per share.

Realty Income also announced that Kathleen R. Allen, Ph.D. has joined its Board of Directors. This brings the number of independent directors of the Company to six persons and the total number of board members to seven persons.

Dr. Allen brings a wealth of experience to Realty Income's Board of Directors. She is currently the Coordinator of the Marshall School of Business, Undergraduate Entrepreneur Program at the University of Southern California, where she has served as a professor since 1991. She is also the author of ten highly respected books in the field of entrepreneurship and technology, a field in which she is considered an expert. In addition to her academic and professional writing activities, Dr. Allen is co-founder, Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Gentech Corporation, a manufacturer of industrial power source equipment, as well as a consultant to two medical technology ventures and Microsoft Corporation.

Realty Income, "The Monthly Dividend Company," is a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The monthly dividend is supported by the cash flows from 1,076 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.