Wealthiest Angelenos 2020: Publisher’s Letter

Josh Schimmels
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Wealthiest Angelenos 2020: Publisher’s Letter
Josh Schimmels

Once again, the Los Angeles Business Journal is pleased to unveil our annual Wealthiest Angelenos special edition. For the past couple of months, our research team and editors have gathered, tracked and compiled data on the very wealthiest individuals (and a few couples) residing in the region. This year’s list took on many different looks over the past few weeks with members’ personal wealth changing at a rapid, and sometimes unexpected, pace. 

In the end, this year’s top 50 increased their collective wealth from $221 billion last year to $288 billion this year. The distribution is pretty impressive as well. Elon Musk, with a fortune of $75 billion, tops a list that encompasses leaders in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship as well as champions of the entertainment industry and corporate giants. 

Our research also led us to billionaires who have part-time residences in Los Angeles but don’t qualify as year-round residents for the purposes of our top 50. We’ve highlighted a few of them and hope you enjoy their stories as well. 

I want to extend a special thank you to our editor, Scott Robson, our research department and the entire editorial team for their collaborative efforts and dedication to this special edition.
We look forward to next year’s list and to seeing how the numbers, industries and, of course, people change. 

With respect and optimism for our region, 

Josh Schimmels 
Publisher & CEO 

 
Return to the 2020 edition of the Wealthiest Angelenos. 

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Josh Schimmels
Josh Schimmels
Josh Schimmels is the Publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Business Journal (LABJ). Having previously served as an executive with the LABJ, he returned to the company in April of 2020. Schimmels was Associate Publisher and Vice President at the Business Journal from 2010 to 2015. He began his career in 1999 with a five-year turn at the Business Journal’s sister publication, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Prior to returning to Los Angeles last year, he was with Phoenix-based AZ Big Media, where he served as publisher, contributing six years at the company in two different roles. AZ Big Media publishes nine magazines including Arizona Business magazine, AZRE and Ranking Arizona. It also hosts one of the state’s most-visited websites with an array of digital offerings. Schimmels spent nearly four years as business group publisher at D Magazine Partners in Dallas. There he oversaw a portfolio of publications that included D CEO magazine, D CEO Real Estate Annual, Dallas 500, D CEO Healthcare, along with its custom publishing division. During his tenure, D CEO magazine was named the country’s Best Regional Business Magazine three times by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers (AABP). Josh holds an MBA from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. He has an undergraduate degree in broadcasting from Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He’s passionate about his work in the community. As a Stage IV blood cancer survivor, he works as a patient advocate to help cancer patients and families through volunteering, fundraising, leadership volunteer positions and public speaking on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). He has served on numerous community boards and committees including AABP, LLS, and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall. Josh has completed the Ironman triathlon twice and spends much of his free time in nature, where he enjoys adventures in the mountains.

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