Quiet Group’s Music Center Millions
By KATE BERRY
Staff Reporter
It’s the Music Center’s version of the old boys’ network one with a cultural and philanthropic twist.
The little-known, male-only Fraternity of Friends has ponied up millions of dollars over the years to support the Music Center including a combined $18 million to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
That compares with the well-publicized $10 million given by philanthropist Eli Broad.
The private group of 250 money managers, entertainment executives and lawyers represents backdoor contributors to the project, which was first conceived in 1987 with a $50 million gift from Lillian Disney, wife of Walt Disney. The hall is scheduled to open Oct 23.
“This is the quietest thunder in Los Angeles,” said David Adishian, the group’s membership chairman and a vice president and wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch.
The fraternity’s only requirements appear to be a seven-figure income (a few dip down to six figures) and an interest in giving money and time to one of the Music Center’s four marquee names. They are the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and Disney Hall.
It would not be a stretch to compare Fraternity of Friends to a group such as Skull and Bones, the exclusive society started at Yale University, whose members have promoted one another in politics and business.
To become a member, a hopeful candidate has to be sponsored by and know an existing member a catch even for upwardly mobile professionals.
Founded in 1978, the Fraternity of Friends modeled itself on its older sister organization, Blue Ribbon, a women’s-only club created in 1968 by Dorothy Chandler to provide economic and community support for the performing arts.
Chandler, who is credited with forming the Music Center, began a campaign to raise public awareness of the need to donate to the city’s beleaguered art institutions.
Today, fraternity members hail from more than 90 public and private companies with a combined market capitalization of $18 billion. More than 22 entertainment companies, 16 law firms and a handful of real estate moguls are on the roster.
Members include residential real estate broker Fred Sands, who is now chairman of Vintage Capital Group LLC; Russell Goldsmith, chairman and chief executive of City National Bank; Richard Rosenzweig, executive vice president of Playboy Enterprises Inc.; and Alan Levy, chairman of Tishman International Cos.
Membership costs $2,000 a year and covers the cost of “recreational” events. Last month, the group got together for a walking tour of downtown and lunch at the Standard Hotel. There are also getaways to Napa Valley wineries and Yosemite.
Along the way, Fraternity of Friends created its own philanthropic outlet the Spotlight Awards a one-night performance by local high school students that is like a cross between “American Idol” and the Academy Awards.
The event is well known among Southern California high schools whose students submit 1,500 applications every year to compete in six performance categories, as well as visual arts such as photography or painting.
Most of the Spotlight Awards winners become successful professionals in ballet, theater and dance.
With some of its fund-raising goals accomplished, Fraternity of Friends has broadened its mission to include recruiting younger professionals into the group.
“If you look around this country, there aren’t a lot of well-financed music centers like ours,” said Thomas Weinberger, the fraternity’s president, who is also chief investment officer of Weinberger Asset Management Inc. in Brentwood. “If you want to bring professionals to this city and you want to hold on to your staff, you have to reach out to the younger segment.”
