Ups, Downs of L.A.’s High-Rollers Tied to Wider Economy

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The fabulously rich may live differently from the rest of us, but their fortunes are still closely linked to the swings of the economy.


Robust real estate prices and a rising, if unsteady, stock market inflated the overall wealth of this year’s 50 richest Angelenos year by 25 percent, to $103.6 billion.


At the top of the 2005 list, media baron Sumner Redstone maintained his No. 1 spot with an estimated $8.3 billion in net worth despite a loss of value in shares of his Viacom Inc. He held on despite the fortunes of Kirk Kerkorian, whose net worth jumped $700 million, to $8.1 billion.


Barbara Davis, at No. 3 with $6.4 billion, takes the place of tycoon and investor Marvin Davis, who died last year. Civic philanthropist Eli Broad ($4.8 billion) maintained his No. 4 spot, despite a 9.4 percent drop in his wealth, much of which is tied up in shares of American International Group Inc., the huge insurance conglomerate dogged by an accounting scandal.


The biggest riser on the list is Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, majority owner of American Pharmaceutical Partners Inc., a generic drug maker. His wealth skyrocketed to $3.6 billion from $1.4 billion, placing him No. 5, after his company received approval to sell a patented cancer drug.


Overall, 37 of the richest saw their net worth increase, while only eight showed a decrease. Of the 50 list members, 38 are billionaires, 10 more than last year, while the floor was lifted $120 million higher, to $621 million.


The new players include two whose fortunes were clarified by legal settlements: Dr. Gary Michelson ($1.4 billion) received the vast majority of his fortune from Medtronic Inc. after a long fight over the value of his patented surgical tools; Hyatt hotel heir Anthony Pritzker ($1.5 billion) received his money after the division of his family’s fortune was resolved.


Another newcomer, former eBay Inc. President Jeffrey Skoll ($4.5 billion), entered at No. 6. Real estate heir Stephen Bing ($1 billion) and shopping center heir Peter Lowy ($700 million) also joined the ranks of L.A.’s wealthiest residents.


Bing and Lowy had something else in common: growing riches tied to all things real estate.


The net worth of home and apartment builder John Shea ($2.4 billion) more than doubled, jumping him to No. 13 from No. 25. Others seeing similar gains include Majestic Realty owner Edward Roski Jr. ($2.8 billion), apartment magnate Alan Casden ($1.2 billion) and developer Donald Sterling ($1.1 billion).


Not so fortunate were those whose net worth, like Broad, was in any way linked to the insurance industry, whose woes have extended all the way to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which has a reinsurance unit.


Investors Charlie Munger ($1.6 billion) and Franklin Otis Booth Jr. ($1.6 billion), both of whom hold big chunks of Berkshire stock, saw their wealth decline. So did the Gondas Louis ($1.2 billion) and Leslie ($1.1 billion) who became large holders of AIG stock after selling their International Lease Finance Corp. jet leasing business to the insurer more than a decade ago. AIG stock is down about 20 percent.


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Read profiles of the wealthiest Angelenos and their holdings, Part 1

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Read profiles, Part 2

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