H
Co-Founder
Broadcom
THE NUMBERS: He sold an estimated $1.2 billion in Broadcom shares since the company went public in 1998.
KEY METRIC: Broadcom shares up about 50% year-over-year.
THE TWO HENRYS: Nicholas established Broadcom in 1991 in a spare bedroom of his Redondo Beach home with fellow OC’s Wealthiest member Henry Samueli. His 2008 divorce is the primary reason our estimate for Nicholas lags that of Samueli, who remains chairman of Broadcom.
RECENT: Business-related news regarding Nicholas has been slow for several years since the Avago sale. His time now is largely spent on his academic nonprofit, Nicholas Academic Centers. It was co-founded with retired Orange County Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel, has three centers in Santa Ana that have graduated more than 1,000 underserved, primarily Latino students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Graduates have received about $60 million in scholarships, attending top schools, such as Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, and Dartmouth.
PHILANTHROPY: On quest to improve victims’ rights following the 1983 murder of younger sister, Marsalee. Known as “Marsy’s Law,” Nicholas-backed initiative protects victims and their families through the legal process, from the defendant’s trial to restitution to parole or other post-judgment release decisions.
• NET WORTH: $5.4 billion
• LAST YEAR: $4.2 billion
• AGE: 62
• RESIDENCE: Newport Coast
• SOURCE OF WEALTH: semiconductors
