24. Geoffrey Palmer

NET WORTH: $3.4 billion
AGE: 70
RESIDENCE: Beverly Hills
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Real estate
LAST YEAR: $3.1 billion
CHANGE: +10%

THE MONEY: Palmer is best known as a developer of multifamily properties, primarily in Southern California. To date, he has built more than 15,000 units, including a large number of freeway-adjacent sites downtown. He also has close to 4,000 units under development or under construction. The gain in Palmer’s wealth this year comes from an increase in the value of his real estate portfolio, which has added thousands of units since last year’s calculations.

THE BUZZ: Palmer, a native Angeleno, founded G.H. Palmer Associates in 1978. In addition to developing real estate, he reportedly owns homes in Beverly Hills; Malibu; Aspen, Colo.; and St. Tropez, France. Palmer is a prominent Republican donor and has reportedly donated more than $2 million to a committee supporting President Donald Trump. Last year Trump attended a reelection fundraiser at Palmer’s Beverly Hills estate. Palmer attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and Pepperdine University School of Law.

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