In looking over this year’s list of the 50 wealthiest Angelenos, there are a number of well-known names missing, many of whom have been included on the list in years past. Below are status reports on a few such people.
Otis Chandler
Wealth Track:
In 1960s and 1970s, he was publisher of the Los Angeles Times. An heir to the Chandler fortune.
What Happened:
He was replaced as publisher in 1980, becoming a mere voice in the wilderness when Mark Willes was brought in as publisher in 1997. Briefly reasserted his voice to whip up newsroom passions in the wake of the Staples Center scandal, in which the Times agreed to split revenue from a Sunday magazine spotlighting the arena. Chandlers sold their Times Mirror Co. to the Tribune Corp. last year.
Where Now?
He lives in Ojai with his second wife, where he is busy adding to his car collection.
Alfred Checchi
Wealth Track:
In mid-1990s, he became co-chairman of Northwest Airlines with Gary Wilson, after they invested $40 million in a buyout of the airline. He currently owns 11.4 million shares of the company. He played an instrumental role in turning the airline around by persuading employees to take pay cuts.
What Happened:
Northwest’s share price plummeted in late 1998 and through 1999, due to labor troubles. His personal fortune was further diminished by his spending of $40 million on an unsuccessful run for California governor.
Where Now?
Checchi still lives in Beverly Hills. He and Wilson have tried to sell Northwest Airlines and cash out, but so far, no deal. Turned down bid from American last summer as too low. Also used previous agreement with Continental Airlines to nix merger deal between Continental and Delta. After four years of negotiations, reached tentative agreement with mechanics this month. Still faces other tense labor negotiations. Meanwhile, Checchi has re-emerged in the state policy arena with three op-ed pieces published in the L.A. Times this year, criticizing Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature for their handling of the energy crisis. Checchi’s mere presence on the sidelines may be one of the factors that has prompted Davis to raise a record $30 million for his re-election campaign.
Jeffrey Sudikoff
Wealth Track:
Founded major global satellite network, IDB Communications, in the mid-1980s with a $15,000 bank loan. By the mid-1990s, IDB’s annual revenues had grown to $300 million and its stock price soared, making Sudikoff a very wealthy man.
What Happened:
IDB was bought in 1995 by what is now MCI WorldCom. With Joseph Cohen, Sudikoff bought the L.A. Kings hockey team from cash-strapped Bruce McNall in 1993. The 1994 NHL lockout hurt revenues, forcing Sudikoff and Cohen to file for bankruptcy protection in 1995. In 1996, sold team to current owners Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski.
In 1997, federal grand jury indicted Sudikoff, accusing him and partner Edward Cheramy of inflating IDB’s first-quarter 1994 profits to meet Wall Street expectations. Indictment also alleged that Sudikoff sold $1.8 million of his shares before word got out about the scheme. In December 1999, Sudikoff was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $3 million. He served his sentence last year in a halfway house. Last August he agreed to pay an additional $850,000 to settle further charges stemming from the scheme.
Where Now?
He’s living in Pacific Palisades and keeping a low profile since finishing his prison sentence.
Lee Iacocca
Wealth Track:
The former Chrysler Corp. chairman and business icon was handsomely rewarded for turning around the troubled carmaker, with hundreds of millions of dollars in Chrysler stock being showered on him.
What Happened:
He moved to Bel-Air in 1994. Chrysler, meanwhile, was bought by Germany’s Daimler-Benz in 1998. The combined company has struggled of late to integrate Chrysler operations, further pushing down share values. Iacocca launched an electric-bike company, EV Global Co., in West L.A. with great fanfare in 1997. He served a brief stint as chairman of the Koo-Koo Roo restaurant chain in 1998, before that company was bought by Family Restaurants Inc.
Where Now?
Still peddling his electric bikes as president of EV Global. The company thus far has been generating only modest sales of about 11,000 bikes per year.
Peter Norton
Wealth Track:
Computer software magnate developed anti-virus program that still bears his name. He sold his company to Symantec Corp. for $70 million in 1990. He is also an avid art collector who has amassed one of region’s largest collections.
What Happened:
He has long been quiet on the business front, as he devoted more time to his art collection and philanthropy.
Where Now?
He’s still living in Santa Monica with wife Eileen. The couple put their Sullivan Canyon ranch on the market in January for $715,000. In February, fire almost completely destroyed the couple’s Victorian-era Nantucket island home. Norton at the time vowed to rebuild it. Earlier this month, he purchased the famed downtown L.A Broadway Mural for a reported $100,000, just as it was about to go on the auction block.
Richard Ferry
Wealth Track:
With partner Lester Korn, founded Korn/Ferry International, a leading executive search firm, in 1969. Over next 30 years, firm grew to 70 worldwide offices.
What Happened:
After boom times in the mid- and late-1990s, Korn/Ferry’s fortunes have reversed as the economy has slowed. Its online recruiting site has been particularly hard hit. Company’s share price has plummeted 50 percent from October high of $40.
Where Now?
Ferry remains chairman of firm, and recently launched a search for new CEO for Korn/Ferry to take place of retiring Windle Priem.
Tom Spiegel
Wealth Track:
In the mid-1980s, he rode S & L; and junk bond waves to riches with his Columbia Savings & Loan, one of the largest and most profitable savings and loan institutions.
What Happened:
The world came crashing down as Columbia’s profits collapsed in 1989. The federal government indicted him in 1992 on charges that he systematically looted Columbia for personal gain. The suit sought $40 million. During the trial, his penchant for extreme security precautions emerged: he and his family employed up to 19 security guards and he had built a bunker-style complex within Columbia’s Beverly Hills headquarters. He was acquitted by a jury in 1994, but in 1995 agreed to pay as much as $275,000 in restitution as part of a settlement of a related civil dispute.
Where Now?
In August 1999, he was hired by San Diego-based MP3.com, the music file download firm, to oversee strategic business development. He helped forge alliances with RealNetworks and other media companies. But eight months later, as the company became embroiled in lawsuits filed by major record labels, he left the firm and has kept a low profile ever since.
