We don’t track the fortunes of the folks who populate our annual list of Wealthiest Angelenos – this year’s special edition starts on page 29 – simply to keep score on the money.
There is, however, a billion-dollar minimum for the list we’ve compiled for this issue – so, yes, this is about the money to some degree. Money matters in this world, and there are good reasons that it’s the stuff of measurement in the community of business we cover.
It’s worth noting, however, that each of the big numbers that end up attached to a name – or two names in the cases of four couples on the list – offers a chance to understand more about a personal fortune than the tabulation of dollars we designate to express its value.
How was the money made? Our entries this year range from heirs to an orphan who labored his way to wealth via honest-to-goodness sweat equity.
How long have the holders of these fortunes strived? A couple of twentysomethings and a set of six nonagenarians bookend the list in terms of ages.
Where did the wealthiest among us come from?
The answer points up America’s history as a nation of immigrants and L.A.’s role as a destination for ambitious dreamers. More than a quarter – 16 of the 60 individuals listed – were born outside the U.S. Only 11 were born in California, and just eight in Los Angeles.
What do they do with all that money?
There’s some notable celebration of big fortunes and good fortune, to be sure. Yachts, estates, professional sports teams and other trophies figure into our Special Report.
There’s also plenty of philanthropy aimed at sharing the various bounties with society at large. Our coverage provides insights on why and how wealth supports the arts, particularly museums, with gifts that fill such repositories of culture. These gifts also help nonprofits put on programming that holds the potential to enrich the lives of the millions who will never meet any members of the Wealthiest Angelenos.
There are lessons in unconventional wisdom – Lynda Resnick gives a refreshing take on family values. She credits the auspices of a family business for allowing her to plow ahead in her career without much concern about competing as a woman in a man’s world.
Then there’s Elon Musk, who seems to flat-out refuse to see anything other than the enormous possibilities of our age. He’s starting to get engaged, civically, with Los Angeles in a way that’s new for him, anxious to roll ahead on several fronts here. Don’t expect Musk to become a paragon of philanthropy anytime soon – but he might someday be California’s version of Andrew Carnegie.
That’s the sort of wonderment that surrounds wealth – and there’s plenty to ponder in this issue, which we offer as an acknowledgment of a remarkable blend of sharp minds, hard workers and able stewards.
We hope it serves as a valuable spur – an invitation to consider the ideas that can flow from the enormous fortunes our economy and society is capable of producing.
