Billionaire Nicolas Berggruen, who clocked in at No. 42 on our recent list of the Wealthiest Angelenos with a net worth of $1.8 billion, has plenty of projects to occupy his time.
From his private equity work and his real estate empire to his tech investments and even his vaunted art collection, there’s no shortage of ventures vying for his attention.
But Berggruen dedicates an outsized portion of his time to the work being done at the Berggruen Institute, according to Dawn Nakagawa, the foundation’s executive vice president and original hire. “He’s remarkably involved,” she said. “This is where his passion is. He believes in this work.”
The institute, which is housed in downtown’s Bradbury Building, has ambitious goals to rethink the way democracy works and reshape global political processes.
It also acts locally. And that’s at the heart of Sense LA, a new initiative that pairs the foundation with the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles and other groups to develop recommendations for a master plan for L.A.
The goal is to incorporate communities, businesses and government agencies to open dialogues and solve problems in central L.A.
“This ranks in a very tactile way several of the ideas we are working on,” Nakagawa said. “Renovating democracy. A new civic architecture for the 21st century. Bringing people together to work on issues. And engaging the community.”
As is the case with much of what Berggruen does, this bears watching.
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Digital health company Parsley Health is opening a flagship location in West Hollywood this month. The New York company, which takes a holistic and tech-driven approach to medical care, recently announced a $26 million Series B round. Founded in 2016 by Robin Berzin, the company also has locations in New York and San Francisco that complement its telemedicine services and at-home diagnostic testing.
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Sending out a brief note to mark the passing of Ed Cray, professor emeritus at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism. Cray, who died Oct. 8, taught and, more importantly, inspired generations of journalists during his four decades at the school. An accomplished author of business books and biographies, in his own way Cray did much to help shape the fabric of Los Angeles.
