Aubrey Chernick #41
Net Worth: $716 million -20%
Last Year: $895 million
Age: 60
Residence: Los Angeles
Source of Wealth: Computer software
The Money:
His digital technology investment firm Ignition Capital LLC has seen two primary investments ?conservative blogging site Pajamas Media and British video-streaming site Vividas Group PLC ?tumble in value. But his security firm National Center for Crisis and Continuity Coordination, or NC4, continues to thrive in post-9/11 era.
Buzz:
Chernick bet big on Vividas, and in 2007 upped stake in the company from 6 percent to 23 percent. But with the downturn, the company was suspended from trading on London Stock Exchange after failing to secure additional financing. NC4 continues to perform well as governments, schools and Fortune 100 companies snap up its services. Company offers suite of emergency management software that helps clients respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Before President Obama? inauguration, it produced one of the most comprehensive reports detailing security concerns. The founder and former chief executive of software developer Candle Corp., Chernick scored big when he sold Candle to IBM in 2004 for $641 million. Grew up in Canada and earned chemistry degree from University of Manitoba. Chernick and wife Joyce are patrons of the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, where they sponsored a show on the future of transportation.
