Day

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43) Robert Addison Day Jr. (up arrow)

Age: 55

Residence: Los Angeles

Source of Wealth: Financial management

Net Worth: $610 million

Last Year’s Rank: 48

Background: Scion of the Keck family, whose maternal grandfather William M. Keck Sr. founded Superior Oil and paternal grandfather Addison Day was president of Los Angeles Gas Co. Opted for career in financial management and started Trust Co. of the West in 1971. Graduate of Claremont McKenna College who now serves on its board. Succeeded his late uncle, Howard B. Keck, as chairman and president of the W.M. Keck Foundation.

Money Track: Started Los Angeles-based TCW with $1.5 million from investors and parlayed it into a investment firm with $50 billion in assets under management. Devaluation of the Mexican peso in 1994 hurt the company but it has rebounded, investing in Asia and benefiting from the strength of Wall Street. TCW is closely held, with Day the largest individual owner.

Buzz: Speculation was heavy in 1996 and 1997 when TCW was entertaining merger proposals, but the company has faded from the headlines since deciding to remain independent. That’s how the media-shy Day likes it. But TCW missed a major growth opportunity years ago by sticking with only institutional clients and not going into mutual funds, like Capital Guardian did. As a result, Capital Guardian, about the same size as TCW before the mutual fund boom, is now many times larger. As for the Day-led W.M. Keck Foundation, it has assets of more than $1 billion and has given nearly $600 million in grants to universities and research institutions.

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