L.A.’s Wealthiest
Cumulative Net Worth:
$118.3 billion + 4.6 percent
Average Net Worth:
$2.37 billion
Biggest Wealth Gainer:
John Tu +145%
Biggest Wealth Loser:
Barbara Davis -50%
Top Wealth Sources:
Real estate/Hospitality, Entertainment/Media, Investments
The long run-up in the markets for stocks and commercial real estate, along with a vibrant national and world economy, are increasingly turning L.A.’s list of the Wealthiest Angelenos into the Billionaire’s Club.
A record 41 of this year’s top 50 have an estimated net worth of $1 billion or more, despite the departure of Jeffrey Skoll, who moved to the Silicon Valley. That compares to 37 last year and just 25 in 2002. And only nine people making this year’s list saw their net worth decrease or remain unchanged.
Overall, this year’s 50 wealthiest county residents had a total net worth of $118.3 billion. That’s just 4.6 percent greater than last year’s total of $113.1 billion. However, if Skoll’s net worth of $4.8 billion were added back, the increase would have been 8.2 percent, better reflecting the average wealth gain.
This year, 24 people had double-digit percentage gains in their net worth, often a conservative estimate based on publicly available information. Kirk Kerkorian, solidified his place at the top of the list as his net worth jumped 73 percent to $16.1 billion, based in part on the appreciation of his 56 percent stake in MGM Mirage. The savvy dealmaker, who turns 90 next month, also made money when he unloaded the last of his holdings in struggling Detroit automaker GM in December.
Entertainment industry mogul Sumner Redstone (No. 2), whom Kerkorian replaced at the top spot two years ago, saw a healthy 13 percent gain from his CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. holdings, the latter of which recovered over the past year with new talent in the executive suite. No. 3 Eli Broad has stepped back from the corporate world to focus on his philanthropy, but still added nearly a $1 billion to his net worth over the past year through his investments.
Commercial real estate developer Rick Caruso debuts on the list at No. 37. The Los Angeles billionaire is best known for the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles’ historic Fairfax District, but has lucrative holdings in the Commons at Calabasas and Waterside Marina del Rey. He also is developing upscale centers in Glendale and Arcadia.
Large stakes in stocks on the upswing also benefited other billionaires on the list. American International Group Inc., which hurt shareholders in 2005 as it struggled with an accounting scandal, recovered over the past year. That resulted in some nice gains for Broad, Steven Ferencz Udvar-Hazy (No. 8), John Anderson (No. 15) and the father-son team of Louis and Leslie Gonda (Nos. 25 and 28). All five acquired AIG shares by selling companies to the New York City insurance conglomerate.
No. 32 Robert Addison Day Jr. a few years ago exchanged most of his ownership in TCW Group Inc., the private asset manager he founded, for a significant stake in Societe Generale. The French bank has seen 49 percent run-ups in its share price each of the last two years.
Meanwhile, there were entrepreneurs whose public company’s stock took a dive over the past year. Abraxis BioScience Inc. Chief Executive Patrick Soon-Shiong saw his 84 percent stake in the biotech he founded drop 12 percent. Medical device entrepreneur Alfred Mann’s latest public company, MannKind Inc., saw its share price fall 17 percent; but the blow to his overall net worth was softened from investment gains through several earlier companies he sold.
Cogent Inc. Chief Executive Ming Hsieh, who debuted on the Top 50 last year, almost fell off the list when shares of his technology company dropped 21 percent. Only Skoll’s relocation to the Silicon Valley kept the Chinese native and USC engineering grad on the list at No. 50.
The Davis family has long been near the top of the Angelenos list through the energy and entertainment industry holdings of its patriarch, the late Marvin Davis. But it falls to No. 18 this year due to a recalculation of the family’s assets since Davis’ 2004 death. The wealth is held in a variety of family trusts.
Merv returns
Entertainment and real estate were the two most common sources of wealth among Los Angeles’ wealthiest, with some benefiting from investments in both industries. TV talk show icon Merv Griffin returns to the list this year at No. 26 after providing more information about his assets. He became a billionaire by parlaying profits from his TV show production businesses into a variety of commercial and residential real estate holdings.
Two other past members of the Top 50 also return this year after a one-year absence. Former Disney Inc. Chief Executive Michael Eisner (No. 49), now an investor in a variety of new media and collectables ventures, benefited from a 26 percent gain in his former employer’s stock. And mall developer Guilford Glazer (No. 48) looks better on paper as the value of his commercial real estate portfolio continues to rise.
As last year, Frank and Jamie McCourt, the owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, are ranked as one entry (39) based on the couple’s role in running the baseball organization together.
