RICHARD AND DAPHNA ZIMAN
He:
Chairman, American Value Partners and Rexford Industrial LLC; oversees operations of his companies and AVP Advisors LLC, a real estate fund
She:
Chairwoman, Children Uniting Nations, a non-profit, and Edwards Entertainment International, a film production company; involved in politics, charities and writing
Years Married:
18
Daphna Ziman vividly remembers the moment when she first held hands with her husband, Richard, almost 20 years ago.
“It was like I was home for the first time in my life,” Daphna said. “I never felt that way before. Our meeting was meant to be, in one way or another.”
Richard Ziman agrees. And he has his own take on why he felt this power couple fit together so well.
“We met later in life, and so we were already aware of who we were individually,” he said. “We realized we could share our lives together and connect on our love of charity and politics.”
The two each had previous marriages and separate careers Richard in business and Daphna in the arts. Richard was a high-profile real estate executive and Daphna had been a model who founded the punk rock label Unicorn Records, original home of underground band Black Flag, then sold it to study filmmaking and later become a screenwriter and producer. Her last project was “Footsteps” for Showtime.
They met through their involvement in City of Hope, a research and treatment center for cancer and other diseases in Duarte.
Richard joined the City of Hope board in 1978. He met Daphna through a friend in 1989 at the Bel-Air Hotel, when she wanted to become a fundraiser for the organization. She’d been impressed with the care her first husband got from the City of Hope when he was being treated for the leukemia that proved fatal.
The two ended up on a date a few months later and were married in January. Since then, they have settled into an English country-style house in Beverly Hills and adopted two children: Ashley, 14, and Michele, 20. Richard already had two other children from a previous marriage: Todd, 38, and Yael, 36.
Richard is 65. Daphna declined to say her exact age, but said there was at least 20 years difference between them. They say it hasn’t mattered in what they’ve shared over the years.
In 1996, Daphna founded the non-profit Children Uniting Nations, which helps to find mentors for foster children and works at the national level to lobby lawmakers to pass more laws to help at-risk youth.
In 2006, Richard made headlines when he sold his real estate company Arden Realty Inc. to a unit of General Electric Co. for $4.8 billion. He now splits his time between his duties as chairman of American Value Partners, AVP Advisors LLC and Rexford Industrial LCC, and fundraising for the Democratic Party and charitable causes.
Extremely liberal Democrats
They usually see eye to eye on social and political issues. It’s easy to figure out which cause or candidate to back, as Richard labels himself and Daphna as “extremely liberal Democrats.” They’ve held intimate dinner fundraisers at their home for Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton.
It was at an awards banquet last year that Daphna said she heard an African-American speaker make comments about Jews oppressing blacks. She sent an e-mail blast that gained some notoriety. The two later made peace.
Daphna’s day usually centers on her charity work; Richard does his own philanthropy. He’s established and endowed the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, the Ziman Family wing at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a 96-bed facility for Alzheimer’s patients at the L.A. Jewish Home for the Aging.
“To whom much is given, much is expected to be given back,” Daphna said, referencing a biblical quote. “Richard knows he can do much to help others and that’s what I admire about him.”
They’re both extremely busy, and can go for days without seeing each other.
“Sometimes our planes literally cross in the night,” Richard said.
How do they work through challenges and set priorities?
“Family always comes first,” Richard quickly replies.
They bristle at the label of “power couple.” Their preference? “Socially conscious couple,” Richard said.
