ANTONIO CUE & JORGE VERGARA
Mexico
Source of Wealth: Food, beverage, construction, sports
Partners paid $26.5 million three years ago to start Chivas USA soccer team to take advantage of L.A.’s huge Mexican fan base. The team is spinoff of Chivas de Guadalajara, owned by Cue and one of the most storied soccer teams in Mexico. Cue’s family controls Grupo Modelo, the Mexican conglomerate that owns Corona and Modelo beer. As a real estate developer in Mexico City, he built Altus, the tallest condominium tower in the country. Also sits on the boards of seven Mexican corporations. Cue moved here to manage the investment. Vergara has a long-standing business relationship with L.A., having built his early fortune by selling Herbalife in Mexico. After learning the ropes of multilevel marketing, he founded Grupo
Omnilife, a dietary supplement powerhouse with global sales of nearly $1 billion. Vergara’s interests also intersect with L.A.’s entertainment industry. He financed Alfonso Cuaron’s road-trip movie “Y Tu Mama Tambien.” Variety named him one of its 10 Producers to Watch.
NICK & CHRISTIAN CANDY
England
Source of Wealth: Real estate
The jet-setting real estate developers Nick Candy, 35, and brother Christian, 33, are behind one of the most significant residential projects in Beverly Hills history. The brothers’ company, Candy & Candy Inc., is developing a 252-unit, Richard Meier-designed condominium project at 9900 Wilshire Blvd. The project will break ground this year and will cater to both local and international buyers. Candy & Candy spent $500 million in April to buy the property. The multimillionaire developers made a name for themselves in London by developing high-profile projects such as One Hyde Park, an ultraluxurious residence in one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods. Neither brother owns an L.A. home but both are interested in buying one.
H. ROGER WANG
China
Source of wealth: High-end Chinese retail chain
This self-made billionaire worth $1.6 billion according to Forbes is the chairman of Golden Eagle Retail Group, which operates high-end retail stores in China. Grew up in Taiwan, then immigrated to the U.S. in 1971. Started business career in Los Angeles as the manager of a Thrifty Drug Store. Has a home in Beverly Hills but is based in China. Recently gave $1 million to the Huntington Library for its new Chinese garden.
PETER LOWY
Australia
Source of Wealth: Shopping center development
Australian Peter Lowy, the son of a Czechoslovakian refugee, has helped turn his family business into a multi-billion-dollar international retail empire. From New South Wales, Peter’s father, Frank, started what would become shopping center developer Westfield Group. But Peter proved instrumental in building the company into the behemoth it is today. Born in Australia, eventually moved to the United States to run the company’s U.S. operations. Along with several top executives, helped expand the company’s U.S. portfolio to 59 shopping centers. On Wealthiest Angeleno list but spends time Down Under.
TEODORIN NGUEMA OBIANG MANGUE
Equatorial Guinea
Source of Wealth: Government enterprises
Controversial Equatorial Guinea Prince Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue has a lavish estate in Malibu on Sweetwater Mesa Road. The heir to Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang, the man known as Little Teodoro paid $35 million for the 16-acre compound inside the Serra Retreat gated enclave. The 2006 purchase was the largest in California that year. Obiang the elder, the much reviled dictator of Equatorial Guinea who came to power with a coup in 1979, is said to have pilfered hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars from the Central African state’s coffers over the years. The playboy son owns the nation’s only private radio station and is the director of the state-owned TV station. Reportedly jet-sets around the world and has dated rapper and actress Eve. Equatorial Guinea under family’s rule has become one of the world’s poorest nations and a haven for the sex and drug trades.
RICARDO SALINAS
Mexico
Source of Wealth: Media, retailing
The owner of Mexico’s No. 2 TV broadcaster has a U.S. network called Azteca America headquartered in Century City. Founded in 2001, Azteca now reaches 82 markets with programming drawn from its Mexican parent. Last year the American network partnered with the National Autonomous University of Mexico to provide “Survival English” courses on TV and at a satellite campus in L.A. Salinas obtained an MBA from Tulane University, then joined family business Elektra, a chain of electronics stores in Mexico. He became president six years later. When the Mexican government privatized some TV stations in 1993, Salinas paid $645 million for the package. His Grupo Salinas also controls banks, cell phone and insurance companies. In 2005, the SEC investigated him for improper transactions. Rather than fight, he delisted his companies from U.S. exchanges. Fortune estimated at $1.6 billion.
KOICHI ONOE
Japan
Source of Wealth: Founded several companies
Serial entrepreneur, who made his fortune with several Japanese companies that he founded, has ensconced himself in a second home in Beverly Hills. Apparently spends about half of his time in Japan and the other half at his hillside mansion, where he runs Benten Trading Corp. Also owns a yacht and is a member of several prestigious local clubs, including the Regency Club, the Riviera Country Club and the Century City Rotary Club. Acquaintances say he is quiet and unassuming. His wife is named Yoko.
INDRA BAKRIE
Indonesia
Source of Wealth: Logging
Indra Bakrie, chairman of Indonesian logging company Austral Byna, likes life in Beverly Hills, where he recently bought a $11.5 million second home. Bakrie’s relatives head a variety of Indonesian companies, and his older brother, Aburizal, a top government official, is ranked by Forbes as the richest person in Indonesia with a net worth of $5.4 billion. Indra is the primary backer of Kalila, a basketball team based in Jakarta.
RYUJI ISHII
Japan
Source of Wealth: Food service
With fresh sushi now sold in restaurants and supermarkets across the country, it can be easy to take for granted the popular Japanese dish. But it was not always this way.
Ryuji Ishii, founder and chief executive of Advanced Fresh Concepts Corp., is credited with helping popularize fast, cheap sushi.
Ishii came to the United States and built one of the most successful sushi franchise businesses in the country. His company specializes in creating in-store sushi bars that prepare ready-to-eat sushi. In fact, it’s the largest supplier to U.S. supermarkets.
“I had to struggle alone in America, a foreign land where everything laws, customs, food culture, etc. was different,” Ishii said in a 2004 interview with San Diego Yu-Yu, a Japanese-language publication.
Ishii learned English and in 1977, at the age of 25, he came to California. He studied accounting at California State University Dominguez Hills and spent some time working as an accountant. But that line of work just wasn’t fulfilling.
At the time, sushi was not widely available, confined mostly to Japanese restaurants. Ishii observed supermarket delis and realized that sushi could be served in a similar style.
In 1986, Ishii formed his company and opened his first sushi bar in a Vons supermarket in Marina del Rey. The ready-to-eat sushi proved popular and he soon opened bars in other grocery stores.
After five years, at the request of a Texas-based supermarket executive, the company opened its first out-of-state sushi bar in San Antonio. It became an unexpected hit.
“Our success in San Antonio made me realize that I had underestimated sushi,” Ishii said in the 2004 interview.
Ishii, who still spends time in Japan, recently bought an $8.5 million home in Hermosa Beach.