#12 Anne Catherine Getty Earhart
Founder, president, Marisla Foundation
Estimated wealth: $1.1 billion
#12 Caroline Getty
Heiress of J. Paul Getty
Governing council officer, The Wilderness Society
Estimated wealth: $1.1 billion
The granddaughters of late oil tycoon J. Paul Getty maintain a low profile around OC but cut a bigger swath in politics and the world of philanthropy with donations to candidates and support for various causes.
The sisters are two of the nation’s richest women and are among 16 grandchildren of the autocratic billionaire.
We estimate each is worth $1.1 billion. That’s based on a long-standing conservative analysis that continues with a 10% gain this year, which we view as likely with the strong stock market and increases in values on other asset classes.
The sisters’ wealth comes from their grandfather, who struck oil in 1953 and founded Getty Oil Co. in 1956. He died in 1976.
The sisters began their path to billionaire status in 1985, when a nine-year legal fight over their grandfather’s will was settled, giving $750 million to each of them, as well as to a half-sister. The sale of Getty Oil to Chevron Corp. a year later gave the sisters another $400 million each.
They continue philanthropic endeavors, along with their political involvement.
Earhart lives in Corona del Mar. She’s founder of the Marisla Foundation in Laguna Beach, which unsuccessfully fought the San Joaquin Hills (73) Toll Road in the 1990s.
She has given richly to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Al Franken, among others.
In 2010, Earhart supported the successful fight against Proposition 23, which sought to suspend global warming laws.
Earhart also supported the successful “Yes on Proposition 22,” which prohibits the state from redirecting funds from local governments.
Marisla Foundation had about $55 million in assets in 2011, the most recent data available. The foundation has helped fund the preservation of coral reefs on the island of Menjangan off the coast of Bali, Indonesia.
Getty also is an environmental activist.
She’s a member of the governing council of The Wilderness Society and serves on the boards of the World Wildlife Fund, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
—Staff report
#12 Arturo R. Moreno
Owner, Angels Baseball LP
Estimated wealth: $1.1 billion
Moreno is on his second fortune in two different industries.
The Business Journal estimates his wealth at $1.1 billion, which takes into account his former successes in billboards; the value of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which inked a $2.5 billion cable deal in 2011; and likely gains in the strong run in stocks and other asset classes over the past 12 months.
He also owns KLAA 830 AM, the Angels’ flagship radio station.
Moreno built Outdoor Systems with partner and Angels minority investor Bill Levine, taking it public in 1996 and selling to Viacom for $8.7 billion in stock in 1999.
He’s in his 10th season at the helm of the Angels, which he bought for $184 million in 2003 from Walt Disney Co.
Forbes valued the franchise at about $718 million in March.
Moreno’s big off-season splash of signing slugger Josh Hamilton hasn’t moved the Angels any closer to championship contention.
Hamilton has underwhelmed, and prior high-priced addition Albert Pujols has been hobbled by injury and could sit out the rest of the year.
Those two, along with pitcher C.J. Wilson, have contracts worth some $442.5 million, with Pujols’ $240 million deal on the books through the 2021 season.
The Angels remain under .500, well behind division foe Oakland Athletics.
He is heavily involved with local charities and causes. Earlier this year, Moreno and his wife, Carole, co-chaired the “Calling All Angels” Gala benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim program for motel kids.
About a year ago, he and Angels Chairman Dennis Kuhl established a program with Disney and the Anaheim Ducks to get homeless kids in the Anna Drive neighborhood to join the Boys & Girls club.
In September 2012, employees from his Angels Baseball Foundation, Wal-Mart and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim distributed back-to-school clothing and shoes to more than 400 club kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim.
Since establishing the Angels Baseball Foundation in 2004, more than $3.3 million has been distributed to charitable programs throughout Southern California.
—Chris Casacchia
#15 Lynsi Torres
Owner, president, In-N-Out Burger Inc.
Estimated wealth: $1 billion
Bloomberg set off a firestorm of media attention on the sole heiress to the In-N-Out burger chain when it proclaimed Torres to be the youngest known female billionaire in the U.S.
The estimated value of the chain—founded by Torres’ grandparents, Harry and Esther Snyder, in 1948—is at $1.1 billion.
Torres is in her early 30s and has generally avoided the media spotlight since assuming the top spot at the company following her grandmother’s death in 2006. In 2011, the mother of two married drag racer Val Torres Jr., her third husband.
She won’t technically own all of the company until she turns 35, but we credit its entire value to her and have bumped her estimated wealth up to $1 billion from last year’s $525 million. The big jump acknowledges that the Business Journal’s estimates had not been factoring in the company’s real estate holdings—recent research shows the company owns or has ground leases for many In-N-Out locations in Orange and L.A. counties, which account for most of its 282 locations.
The pattern is likely true companywide, given the company’s desire for close control of operations, which also has kept it out of franchising while growing annual sales. 2012 sales rose 5.9% from a year earlier to $528 million, according to Chicago-based industry researcher Technomic Inc.
The company began an expansion in Texas in 2011 and now has 17 restaurants open and one in development in the state.
—Kari Hamanaka
#16 William Lyon
Executive chairman, William Lyon Homes
Estimated wealth: $800 million
An improving housing market has no doubt strengthened the balance sheet of Gen. Lyon over the past year, but our higher estimate for the longtime homebuilder also factors in our improved clarity on his ownership stake in a local apartment business.
We’ve bumped up the estimate for the executive chairman of Newport Beach-based homebuilder William Lyon Homes by $100 million from last year, to $800 million.
It is the first boost in our estimate since the onset of the last housing bust, when we conservatively estimated Lyon to be a billionaire.
A stronger housing market, and an improving financial situation for William Lyon Homes, plays a part in the $100 million boost.
The homebuilder was taken public in May, and the company was valued at around $750 million at the time of the initial public offering. Lyon and his family owned about 18% of the company’s outstanding stock at the time of the offering, valued at $135 million.
Only a portion of the Lyon family’s wealth is directly tied to the homebuilder.
Lyon is also a 50% owner of Newport Beach-based Lyon Communities, an apartment owner that has about 11,000 units to its name and several new developments under way.
The apartment company, formed about 25 years ago, is valued at $2 billion. The Business Journal only factored roughly $100 million of wealth from the apartment business in our prior valuations of Lyon. Even factoring in debt, that estimate was likely very undervalued.
Lyon is known for his classic car and plane collection. He has some 100 classic, antique cars, including 10 Duesenbergs, of which only 480 were made. He also has a collection of old warplanes and sponsors the Lyon Air Museum near John Wayne Airport.
Known as “The General,” 90-year-old Lyon served as a flyer in the Pacific, European and North African theaters during World War II. He rose to chief of the U.S. Air Force Reserve before retiring from the military in 1979 as a major general.
He’s one of the county’s biggest philanthropists and supporters of Republican candidates.
—Mark Mueller
#17 Ron Simon
Founder, chairman, RSI Holding Corp.
Estimated wealth: $775 million
Simon’s buyout of private equity firm Onex Corp.’s 50% share in RSI Home Products Inc. earlier this year gave him the ability to move pieces of his business around.
He made good use of the latitude, and recent changes involving the handful of subsidiaries within Simon’s RSI Holding Corp. have been figured into our latest estimate of his wealth. We also take into account the overall recovery in the financial markets, specifically in homebuilding; its improving health means potential business growth for both of RSI’s core business units: cabinetmaking and residential homebuilding.
The Newport Beach-based holding company owns RSI Home Products in Anaheim, which makes in-stock kitchen and bath cabinets and sells to retailers. RSI Holding owns another cabinet brand, Professional Cabinet Solutions. For about seven years, PCS had been a separate brand that specializes in made-to-order, frameless cabinets, mainly for sale to homebuilders and cabinet dealers.
It was sold to RSI Home Products last month in a consolidation orchestrated by Simon. RSI Home Products alone had about $450 million in revenue last year. It is unclear how much the revenue will be with the recently acquired unit, but hopes are high.
“While the consolidation between RSI Home Products and PCS is just beginning, it is very promising, boasting huge growth potential,” Simon said, adding that the made-to-order market is an estimated $5 billion industry, a “significant portion” of which he expects to capture with the newly combined unit.
The latest merger within RSI Holding would have been unlikely without Simon’s buyout of Onex’ stake in RSI Home Products, a stake the Toronto-based private equity firm had held since 2008.
Simon paid Onex $323 million to regain 100% ownership of the company. He raised $525 million in a bond offering to do that, taking advantage of the low-interest-rate environment for bonds, as well as the rosy prospects for the housing and remodeling markets.
RSI Development LP—RSI Holding’s other business—is currently working on “more than 100 infill projects in communities throughout Orange County,” with plans to expand into other regions in Southern California later this year, according to Simon.
RSI Development, which operates under The New House by RSI name, builds high-quality, low-priced homes in 40 days or fewer by applying the “precision-built” manufacturing techniques used on the cabinet side. Simon launched The New House in 2009 and has since built hundreds of homes.
Simon, who was born in East L.A. to a Russian mother and English father, began his manufacturing career when he started working for his dad’s medicine-cabinet company, Perma-Bilt Industries. Simon eventually took control of the business and grew it to be among the largest cabinet makers. He sold it to an Australian company in 1987 and started RSI in 1989.
—Jane Yu
#18 Victor Tsao
General partner, Janie Tsao
President, Miven Venture Partners
Estimated wealth: $650 million
The Tsaos, one of Orange County’s wealthiest business couples, have taken a big step back from local ventures and investments.
They run Miven Ventures Partners, a $100 million venture fund. The company doesn’t have a website and rarely touts a financing deal.
The Business Journal wasn’t able to find one investment the firm made in the past year―or the year before.
The paper was able to reach Victor Tsao via email during a recent trip to Asia, where he spends considerable time.
“Life is still full of learning and opportunities,” he said cryptically. “Never a dull moment.”
We’ll take him on his word, since he declined to provide an update on his company, personal business or philanthropic efforts.
The couple has kept a low profile since they sold Linksys Group Inc. to Cisco Systems Inc. for $500 million in 2003. They stayed on for awhile after the deal closed, working for Cisco in China, but cut ties years ago.
Cisco sold the Irvine-based home networking group in March to Belkin International Inc. in Playa Vista.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Linksys was expected to sell for much less than the $500 million Cisco paid for it.
We estimate the Tsaos at $650 million, up from $600 million a year ago based on the assumption that their investment savvy closely followed the rise of the S&P 500 the past 12 months.
Our estimate begins with the sale to Cisco and other investments they are said to have made since then. They are believed to have diversified out of most Cisco shares.
Victor Tsao is big on mentoring entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, where the Tsaos were born.
Janie Tsao also heads the Tsao Family Foundation in Corona del Mar.
The Miven Venture Partners Scholarship was established by the Tsao Family Foundation and Miven Venture Partners at California State University, Fullerton, to support students who need financial assistance.
—Chris Casacchia
#19 Howard Ahmanson Jr.
Trustee, Fieldstead and Co.
Estimated wealth: $625 million
The banking heir’s website offers a quick take on the sort of intellectual independence that makes his persona and politics hard to pin down. The blog is called BlueKennel, and it’s billed as “fiscally moderate, socially conservative”—a tagline that flips the script on the fiscally conservative, socially moderate stance maintained by many wealthy denizens of California’s coast.
Ahmanson graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles and took a master’s in linguistics from the University of Texas. He is known as a backer of religious causes and brings his fortune and background to bear on projects, e.g. He helped fund the “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture,” 28 volumes of commentary on the Bible for translation into German, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Hindi and Mandarin.
Ahmanson has Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder that can result in involuntary body movements and repetitive, compulsive thoughts. He works from a 3-year-old, Old World-style mansion that was completed three years ago at a cost of $30 million.
He gave $1.1 million to support now-overturned Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. He’s a board member of Seattle-based Discovery Institute, known for its advocacy of intelligent design; the John M. Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Miss.; and the Claremont Institute.
He’s been a big supporter of Tustin-based Orange County Rescue Mission.
Ahmanson surprised many in 2009 when he said he registered as a Democrat because he was turned off by the California Republican Party’s sole focus on resisting new taxes. He now considers himself a conservative Democrat.
We estimate Ahmanson’s wealth at $625 million, up about 10% after considering the strong stock market, with an offset for his giving.
Our estimate is conservative, and Ahmanson could be worth more.
His father, Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson Sr., started and grew Home Savings & Loan, which was bought for $10 billion in 1998 by Washington Mutual Inc.
When Ahmanson Sr. died in 1968, his estate was split between the Ahmanson Foundation and his then-18-year-old son. Today, the foundation, of which Ahmanson is a trustee, has $949 million in assets.
—Jerry Sullivan
#20 John L. Curci
Owner, Lido Peninsula Co.
Estimated wealth: $500 million
Curci keeps a low public profile as the patriarch of a family that counts as old money in OC.
The Curci clan also can stake a claim to a role in developments in the Palm Springs area, along with interests in industrial property throughout Southern California, according to sources with knowledge of the holdings.
They do a good job of staying under the radar, but enough anecdotal indicators cropped up since last year—when the elder Curci debuted on the list—to prompt a doubling of our estimate.
A big piece of the family’s wealth is said to stem from the 23 or so acres owned by Lido Peninsula Co., where manufactured houses have been developed and sold with ground leases. Notable tenants on the land include the Lido Yacht Anchorage & Drystack and well-known Sabatino’s Sausage Co.
Early and long-standing investments in Ed Roski’s Majestic Realty Co. also are said to have bolstered the family’s holdings over the years.
The Curci fortune started with John L. Curci’s late father, also named John, who began buying significant amounts of land in California in the late 1940s.
“Buying land in California is smart if you’ve got staying power,” the elder Curci was fond of saying, according to some sources familiar with the family.
The annual Bob Hope Classic at La Quinta has a field named after the elder Curci, who is listed with Desi Arnaz among the founders of Indian Wells in various reports.
His son, John L. Curci, and the rest of the clan carry little debt and have maintained an “impeccable” reputation in the business world, according to familiar sources.
The next generation continues to bring variety to the family business, with a son of John L.—another John—running Dbac Inc., among the leading tenant-improvement contractors in OC.
It’s unknown how the wealth is apportioned among multiple generations, and our estimate for John L.Curci could be low.
He gives through family foundations, among other organizations.
—Jerry Sullivan
#21 Fletcher “Ted” Jones Jr.
Chief executive, Fletcher Jones Management Group Inc.
Estimated wealth: $450 million
Construction continues on a 50,000-square-foot Mercedes-Benz dealership in Temecula that’s set to become the 20th dealership under the Fletcher Jones Management Group Inc. portfolio when it opens next March.
The group, which got its start by Jones’ father in Los Angeles in 1946 at 7th Street and Vermont Avenue, currently operates dealerships in four states.
Its dealerships span eight brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Audi.
The group’s flagship property is Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport Beach, which has laid claim to the title of being the No. 1 Mercedes dealer in the country for 14 straight years now.
Fletcher Jones Management saw 2012 sales of $1.8 billion, up about 29% from a year earlier.
“All the businesses we have are growing,” said Fletcher Jones General Manager Garth Blumenthal, who oversees day-to-day operations at the Newport Beach property and is a partner in the Temecula dealership. “We’re up to 19 dealerships in total that are actually operational, and we continue to look at opportunities.”
An Ontario Mercedes-Benz opened about a year ago and is doing well, Blumenthal said.
The group’s Beverly Hills Audi, which opened more than a year ago, is also seeing robust business and has been the brand’s No. 1 dealership in Los Angeles twice so far this year.
Meantime, a 4-acre parcel adjacent to the Temecula dealership that’s under construction is also developable, and the company is continuing “to explore all the options and see what makes the most sense,” Blumenthal said.
We’re estimating Jones’ wealth at $450 million, up from $425 million last year, based on the strong performance of the group’s dealerships and the continued recovery of auto sales so far this year.
Jones lives at Pelican Point in Newport Coast and keeps an office at the Newport Beach dealership.
His company continues to have a big presence in the communities where its dealerships are located, with a focus primarily on local schools and children’s charities. Contributions are up about 5% so far this year, Blumenthal said.
—Kari Hamanaka
#21 Anthony Maglica
Founder, president, Mag Instrument Inc.
Estimated wealth: $450 million
We have increased the estimate of the Anaheim Hills resident’s wealth by $50 million based on the improved performance of stocks and other asset classes over the past year.
The growing number of patents granted to Maglica—who at 82 continues to work at Mag Instrument Inc.—also serves as a basis for growth prospects for the company. Maglica currently has 112 patents issued, with the latest one from February 2012, and has an additional 17 applications filed.
Maglica has grown the Ontario-based company into a popular household brand that’s sold in more than 100 countries. Mag Instrument makes a range of flashlights in various versions, including pocket-sized, rechargeable and waterproof. An estimated 400 million of its flashlights have been sold, largely to customers in the military and law enforcement.
Maglica has had to fight copycats and numerous intellectual property cases over the decades. The number of lawsuits and amount of money he has spent speak to the popularity of his flashlights: He has spent more than $100 million in litigation in some 200 lawsuits, according to information from Star Publication, a Malaysian media company.
Those cases, and victories, include a $113,000 judgment against Japan-based Asahi Electric Corp. in 2003. The company made cheaper flashlights that looked like Maglica’s.
Mag Instrument makes all of its products in its million-square-foot Ontario facility and prides itself on its domestic manufacturing.
Maglica was born in New York during the Great Depression. His parents had moved to the U.S. from Croatia a few years earlier, but economic conditions led Maglica’s mother to move back to the island of Zlarin, bringing the baby along. Maglica was raised there through the war years and returned to New York in 1950.
He trained as a machinist, moving around to Denver and to California for work opportunities. By 1955, he had saved up $125 and started his own machine tool business. It eventually became incorporated as Mag Instrument.
Maglica is considered one of the most influential individuals of Croatian descent. He maintains close ties to Croatia, especially Zlarin, where he sponsored the building of a waste processing plant in 2000. He also owns a villa there.
—Jane Yu
#21 Fariborz Maseeh
Founder, managing principal, Picoco LLC
Estimated wealth: $450 million
Maseeh’s work as a philanthropist and mentor to student engineers has taken on more prominence in recent years.
The engineer-turned-financier was honored in April with the Entrepreneurship in Engineering Award from the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering, where he sponsors the annual Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition. Other honorees this year: SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk and Sempra Energy Chief Executive Debra Reed.
Maseeh, parent of an autistic child, established the Kids Institute for Development and Advancement in Irvine four years ago. It occupies a 50,000-square-foot building near John Wayne Airport that melds education, therapy and medical support in one location.
About a year ago, he debuted The Port, a renovated theater in Corona del Mar that has hosted the Miss Corona del Mar Pageant and the Newport Beach Film Festival. Maseeh bought the place in 2007 and has put more than $1 million into its makeover as a high-end theater.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained pioneer in micro-electromechanical systems grew up in Tehran, Iran, and came to the U.S. at age 18. He cashed out of IntelliSense Corp., a software company he built in Massachusetts, with a $750 million sale to Corning Inc. more than a decade ago. Now he manages several hedge funds and other assets through his Picoco LLC in Newport Beach.
We estimate Maseeh’s wealth at $450 million, a fortune based on the IntelliSense sale and presumption that he exited some of his Corning shares before the stock crashed in 2001. We took him up by $50 million from last year, assuming he had gains in his portfolio with the strong run in stocks and other asset classes over the past 12 months, with gifts likely offsetting a portion.
His Massiah Foundation has given to Portland State University in Oregon, where he did undergraduate work. The school of engineering and the math and statistics department there are both named after him.
Maseeh started the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at University of California, Irvine, and gives to its Samueli School of Engineering. He also has supported Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
He is a member of MIT Corp. and serves on the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School and the engineering advisory boards of MIT, USC and Portland State University. He also is an executive member of California Council for Science and Technology.
—Chris Casacchia
#21 David Wilson
Owner, chief executive, Wilson Automotive Group
Estimated wealth: $450 million
The latest dealership for Wilson Automotive Group is set for a Nov. 15 opening in the Inland Empire.
Construction on Volkswagen of San Bernardino is under way and will be the Wilson Automotive Group’s 17th dealership when it opens later this year, joining Toyota of Orange, Newport Lexus, Weir Canyon Honda and Weir Canyon Acura, among others.
It’s also looking into the possibility of a second dealership in Mexico; it currently has one in Puerto Vallarta.
Business for the Wilson Automotive Group continues to be strong, with sales projected to reach $1.9 billion this year, according to the company.
“It’s good to be doing business in Orange County,” said Wilson, who was reached via email. “It seems to be the only bright spot in the state.”
Automotive sales nationally, and the outlook for the industry, continue to improve, with the seasonally adjusted annual rate at nearly 16 million vehicles in June. There are also the latest numbers from Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association; they show OC sales up 9.1% in May to 11,383 vehicles. The figures are based on new vehicle registrations.
We factored in those numbers, along with the general performance of the Wilson Automotive Group, to get the estimated wealth of Wilson, which was taken up to $450 million from $425 million last year.
That’s not bad for Wilson, who bought Toyota of Orange in 1985. He originally started out as a general manager there in 1982 and worked to quadruple the dealership’s vehicle sales to 8,000 annually in less than two years.
Wilson and his company also have a big footprint in the community, having donated millions to hundreds of local schools, charities and nonprofits. Major contributions this year have gone to the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach, SchoolPower and Chapman University.
—Kari Hamanaka
#25 James Downey
Owner, Wave Equity Partners LLC
Estimated wealth: $425 million
Downey is working on his second fortune in the aerospace industry after cashing out in a wave of consolidations in the last decade.
Two years ago, he cofounded Seal Beach-based EnCore Aerospace LLC, an aerospace interior design and manufacturing company, with colleague Tom McFarland, a veteran of C&D Aerospace in Huntington Beach who serves as EnCore’s chief executive.
In 2011, EnCore acquired Irvine-based Composites Unlimited Inc. for an undisclosed amount and London-based BAE Systems PLC’s composite structures line of business in Brea for $32.5 million.
We estimate his wealth at $425 million, up from $375 million a year ago. We took into account the $600 million sale of C&D Aerospace to Zodiac SA in France in 2005 as the basis of his wealth. Our estimate is based largely on the sale, factoring in other owners and debt. We’ve increased it by $50 million this year to reflect the strong stock market and gains in other asset classes in the past 12 months, with some give-back based on his generosity.
Childhood friend Toby Crowley was the other founder of C&D, which was launched in 1972.
The company now goes by C&D Zodiac Inc. and makes commercial and military aircraft cabin fixtures, including overhead bins, cabin lighting and reinforced cockpit doors.
Downey oversees Aliso Viejo-based family investment firm Wave Equity Partners LLC, which manages and supports family investments and philanthropy.
He keeps a low profile and has given millions through his foundations since the C&D sale.
His Aliso Viejo-based Downey-Short Foundation supports patients undergoing cancer treatment. It has about $4 million in assets. The James E. Downey Foundation, with about $3 million in assets, has given scholarships to more than 200 college students in Orange County and his native Illinois. He also supports education in Brazil.
—Chris Casacchia
#26 Duane Roberts
Chairman, chief executive, Entrepreneurial Corporate Group
Estimated wealth: $400 million
Roberts, who made an early fortune in food, now has a growing fortune tied to real estate and other investments.
We estimate his wealth at $400 million, up from $375 million a year ago based on presumed higher valuations for his investments, real estate and companies.
His Newport Beach-based Entrepreneurial Corporate Group is said to own more than 10,000 apartments —primarily in the Southwestern U.S.—as well as British food manufacturers, restaurants and other ventures.
Robert’s best-known property is in his native Riverside, the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, which celebrated its 110th birthday this year. He purchased the Mission Inn in 1985 for $13.5 million and saved it from demolition. It was reopened in 1992.
In 1950, his dad, Harry Roberts, started Butcher Boy Food Products Inc., a meat company that was the main supplier of patties to McDonald’s and other fast-food chains. Roberts dropped out of college to help his dad.
While working at Butcher Boy, Roberts, then 19, came up with what is billed as the first frozen burrito. At 27, he became president and built Butcher Boy to six plants and 1,400 workers.
By the time the family sold the business to Central Soya Inc. in 1980, Butcher Boy had an estimated $85 million in yearly sales. The company later became part of Tyson Foods Inc. before being sold to a private equity group.
Roberts went on to sell another burrito company, Fernando’s Foods, to ConAgra Foods Inc. in the late 1990s for about $35 million in ConAgra stock.
He took his Mexican food fortune and branched out into real estate, as well as banking and other investments.
Another family member now has the most prominent name in local food circles: stepdaughter Casey Reinhardt, chief creative officer of Laguna Beach-based Casey’s Cupcakes.
Roberts built a 17,000-square-foot pet adoption center named after his mother, the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center. He is a major long-term supporter of Santa Ana-based Olive Crest Children Treatment Centers Inc. and has given “seven figures” to Pepperdine University, where his stepdaughter attended.
—Mark Mueller
#27 Bob Hoff
General partner, Crosspoint Venture Partners
Estimated wealth: $325 million
Much of Hoff’s wealth is believed to have come from the dot-com years when Crosspoint Venture Partners, a venture capital firm founded in 1970, capitalized on a number of “insanely” good deals and had “some of the best returns in the industry,” according to a trusted source.
Some of Crosspoint’s big hits in the early 2000s include: PairGain Technologies Inc. in Tustin, which was sold to ADC Telecommunications Inc. for $1.6 billion; and Dallas- based Efficient Networks, sold to European telecommunications giant Siemens for $1.5 billion.
Redwood City-based Crosspoint at one point had about $2 billion of capital, and it has invested in or managed more than 200 new businesses, according to its website.
Hoff is semiretired, and it’s unclear whether Crosspoint is doing much business these days. But his name is still found on the firm’s website as general partner, a role he has maintained since opening its Irvine office in 1983.
After keeping our estimate on his wealth at $275 million for the past two years, we’ve increased it to $325 million.
The higher estimate is primarily based on the overall growths in stocks and other investment assets over the past year, assuming he had a fair amount of his cash invested in the market. Stocks gained at a rate of about 21.3% over the past year, according to the S&P 500 Index.
Hoff is on the advisory boards of two local investment firms: Newport Beach-based Solis Capital Partners LLC and Miramar Venture Partners in Corona del Mar. Solis recently closed its second fund with $61 million in commitments. Miramar has launched its first “sector-specific fund” focused on mobile Internet technology and applications.
Hoff also sits on the advisory board of Encore Housing Opportunity Fund, a San Francisco-based investor in distressed real estate.
Hoff is known to be a fan of the outdoors. He’s been an active trustee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Foundation in Park City, Utah, for a decade or so.
Hoff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and an MBA from Harvard.
—Jane Yu
#27 Gary Jabara
Founder, chief executive, Mobilitie LLC
Estimated wealth: $325 million
A flurry of local real estate investments—on top of growth at his primary line of business—helped solidify Jabara’s spot on our list.
We’ve estimated the wealth of Jabara, founder of Newport Beach-based cellphone tower company Mobilitie LLC, at $325 million this year.
That’s up $50 million from a year ago, when the former Deloitte partner debuted on the list.
Last year’s entry followed a $1.1 billion sale of 2,300 cellphone towers owned by Mobilitie to Boca Raton, Fla.-based competitor SBA Communications Corp.
The sale included only a portion of Mobilitie’s cellphone tower portfolio.
Since the SBA deal, the company has added another big line of business.
Mobilitie now is one of the country’s largest providers of distributed antenna systems—permanent antenna systems that can be placed in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues—for sporting venues, casinos and other locations.
The company raised $100 million from Los Angeles-based private equity investor Shamrock Capital Advisors in February to help fund the building and deployment of its systems.
Jabara now estimates his company’s enterprise value—essentially its market cap plus debt and minus cash—at between $400 million and $500 million.
Beyond Mobilitie, Jabara has a growing real estate portfolio, primarily in Orange County.
He’s bought about $200 million in residential and commercial real estate since last year, including several buildings in Newport Beach.
Jabara’s also the main financial backer of Villa Real Estate, a new luxury home brokerage that’s quickly made a mark in the coastal market.
Education is the main focus of his philanthropic efforts. He and his wife, Lisa, provide support for several charities and local schools, including Sage Hill School in Newport Beach.
—Mark Mueller
#27 Stacey E. Nicholas
Estimated wealth: $325 million
The former wife of Henry Nicholas tracks her fortune to the couple’s divorce settlement five years ago.
She initially was co-trustee of the Nicholas Broadcom Trust, which included about 26.2 million Broadcom Corp. shares.
Her ex-husband has been the sole trustee for some time.
The Business Journal estimates her worth at $325 million, up from $300 million a year ago.
That’s based on property and assets she retained from her 20-plus-year marriage to Nicholas, cofounder and former chief executive of Broadcom, and the stock market’s sizable gains in the past 12 months.
Stacey (maiden name Feller) married Nicholas in 1987.
She filed for divorce in 2002, a year before her husband stepped down as Broadcom’s chief executive.
The divorce became final in 2008.
Stacey holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.
She was an electrical engineer at the now-defunct defense contractor TRW Corp., where she met Nicholas.
TRW was also where Nicholas met Broadcom cofounder Henry Samueli.
—Chris Casacchia
#27 Pawan Seth
Drug developer, founder, Pharma Pass LLC
Estimated wealth: $325 million
If you are taking generic versions of popular drugs such as Wellbutrin or Prilosec, chances are you are familiar with Pawan Seth’s scientific work.
Seth’s wealth from patents and development deals is not easy to pin. We estimate his wealth at $325 million. That’s up $25 million from
a year ago, based on the strong run for
stocks and other asset classes over the past 12 months.
Seth established Pharma Pass LLC, which developed ways to control the release of drugs and boost their effectiveness.
He gained a good chunk of wealth 11 years ago after Biovail Corp. of Montreal paid him $190 million for drugs under development, technology, intellectual property and the assets of Pharma Pass LLC and Pharma Pass SA of France.
The inventor has a number of well-known drugs to his credit. He is the creator of Wellbutrin XL, a once-daily, time-release version of the anti-depressant that continues to maintain a loyal following in the wake of generics.
Seth also invented the sole generic version of the blockbuster heartburn drug Prilosec that did not infringe on patents held by British drug maker AstraZeneca PLC. Belgium-based UCB SA markets Seth’s version of generic Prilosec. He sold the exclusive U.S. patent rights of the version to a domestic unit of Germany-based Schwarz Pharma AG, which UCB bought in 2007.
The inventor has had a long relationship with Biovail, which bought then-Aliso Viejo-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in 2010 and took on that name.
Seth continues working on developing drugs with Biovail and has continued to work with Pharma Pass II LLC, an Irvine-based successor company.
He recently received a patent for an improved method of dissolving fenofibrate, a drug that’s used for controlling cholesterol in people at risk for cardiovascular disease, according to trade publication Biotech Week.
