Real estate, stock prices fuel wealth in Orange County.The 25 wealthiest people in Orange County--including eight billionaires--count a collective $28 billion in estimated worth, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Orange County Business Journal's fifth annual list. Their combined wealth is more than the gross domestic product of Luxembourg. Donald Bren Donald Leroy Bren (born 1932) is a US real estate mogul born in Los Angeles, and currently residing in Newport Beach, CA. He is the son of Hollywood producer Milton Bren and the stepson of actress Claire Trevor. easily tops the list, with an estimated net worth that's more than the economy of Brunei The Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, coupled with fluctuations in the price of oil have created uncertainty and instability in Brunei's economy. In addition, the 1998 collapse of the AMEDEO Corporation, Brunei's largest construction firm whose projects helped fuel the domestic . This year's group, which includes one more person than last year, counts $4 billion more in wealth than 2004's. Much of the gain came from rising real estate and stock prices. The cutoff to make this year's list is $300 million, up from $250 million last year. Two people joined the billionaires on the list: bond fund manager Bill Gross and Oakley Inc.'s Jim Jannard. They bring the number of billionaires to eight from six last year. Bren, chairman and owner of Irvine Co., dominates the list, accounting for an estimated 28 percent of the group's wealth at $8 billion, up from $7.5 billion last year. Roland Arnall Roland Arnall is the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands and billionaire owner of Ameriquest, which was once one of the United States's leading wholesale sub-prime lenders. The company is one of the largest privately held retail mortgage lenders in the United States. , owner and chairman of Orange-based mortgage company Ameriquest Capital Corp., got a billion-dollar boost to $2.1 billion. The figure is based in part on what can be gleaned from a smaller rival, Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp., which had a market value of $2.5 billion at recent check. Another big gainer was William Lyon, chief executive of Newport Beach-based homebuilder William Lyon Homes Inc. His net worth is estimated at $675 million, up from $500 million. Shares of his company have soared on Wall Street in the past year, though the rise has been bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. for Lyon. Part of the surge came after Lyon offered to buy the rest of the company and take it private. Investors bid up the shares, betting that Lyon would match them. He folded last month, resigning himself to controlling about 70 percent. The list includes three newcomers. The highest debut is No. 20 Maurice McAlister, chairman of Newport Beach-based Downey Financial Corp. Like others on the list, McAlister doesn't live in Orange County, but his wealth comes from there. McAlister lives in Bullhead bullhead, common name for several species of fish. See catfish; sculpin. bullhead Any of several species of North American freshwater catfish in the genus Ictalurus, valued as food and sport fishes. Bullheads are related to the channel catfish (I. City, Ariz., and comes to Downey for board meetings and other business. With a 20 percent stake in Downey, McAlister is valued at $425 million. The savings-and-loan operator had a market value of $2 billion last week. Two manufacturing entrepreneurs are the other newcomers. No. 24 James Downey James Downey can refer to:
Downey and a longtime friend started C&D in 1972. This year, the business expects about $450 million in sales of aircraft interiors and other products to Boeing Co., Airbus SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. and others. No. 25 Ronald Simon Ronald Simon, sometimes credited as Ronnie Simon, is a British actor based largely in Scotland. Born in Edinburgh, he now lives in Glasgow. His work has encompassed all the major theatres in Scotland, including two years at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, the checks in at an estimated $300 million with his Newport Beach-based RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) Ailments of the hands, neck, back and eyes due to computer use. The remedy for RSI is frequent breaks which should include stretching or yoga postures. Holding Corp., a maker of household cabinets and other products. Simon started the company in 1989 after differing on strategy with the buyers of his family's business, Perma-Bilt Industries. Simon saw rising Asian competition and came up with a low-cost manufacturing model. Instead of implementing it at Perma-Bilt, he did so at RSI. Now Perma-Bilt is gone and RSI counts yearly sales of $500 million. Entrepreneurs from Simon and Downey to Broadcom Corp.'s Henry Sameuli and Henry Nicholas make up a big part of the list. "Wealth is concentrated where people think they can run a business," said Joel Kotkin, author of "The City: A Global History" and an Irvine Fellow at the New America Foundation The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank located in Washington, D.C. that promotes innovative political solutions transcending conventional party lines -- what they call radical centrist politics. . Immigrants also are well-represented at nine of the entries, including No. 2 Ernest Rady, who is from Canada; and No. 18 Anthony Maglica, who was born in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , raised in Croatia and returned to New York knowing little English. The list was formulated by examining individual holdings, company assets, public records and press clippings and talking with trusted sources. Taken into account are catalog assets, debt and other factors. Net worth includes stock, real estate and other assets other assets Assets of relatively small value. For financial reporting purposes, firms frequently combine small assets into a single category rather than listing each item separately. held by individuals after debt, stock and other factors. It includes shares or other assets held in family trusts or family-owned corporations controlled by an individual. The list is limited to people who live here or derive most of their wealth from companies in Orange County. And as with other lists, it is not inclusive. There are potential candidates who are on their way to meeting the threshold. For example, Howard Phanstiel, chief executive of Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems PacifiCare Health Systems (former NYSE: PHS) was a Fortune 500 healthcare company based in Cypress, California. It was acquired by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in late 2005, which continues to market health plans under the PacifiCare name. Inc., is set to get up to $200 million in cash and stock upon the company's $8 billion sale to United-Health Group Inc. OC Rich Bren is the wealthiest indiVidual in Orange County. Name Source of Wealth Estimated Wealth Donald Bren Real estate $8 billion Ernest Rady Financial services 2.2 billion Roland Arnall Mortgage lending 2.1 billion Henry Nicholas Semiconductors 1.8 billion Henry Samueli Semiconductors 1.75 billion George Argyros Real estate 1.2 billion William Gross Bond investments 1 billion James Jannard Apparel 1 billion Igor Olenicoff Real estate 800 million Caroline Getty Inheritance 775 million Anne Catherine Getty Earhart Inheritance 775 million Source: Orange County Business Journal |
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