Bill Gross spoke to just two reporters last week after announcing his impending retirement. OCBJ Executive Editor Peter J. Brennan was one of them, and his deep-dive profile on OC’s legendary financial whiz in this issue is a must-read.
Timing is everything when it comes to sizing up Gross and his legacy—an unprecedented 30-year run in the bond bull market, spot-on prognostications on the dot-com bubble of 2000 and then the housing and economic crash of 2008, followed a series of uncharacteristic missteps in his later years at PIMCO and Janus Henderson.
In terms of timing, Gross’ departure came right after another longtime PIMCO exec, former CEO Bill Thompson, announced a return to the Newport Beach money manager as chairman emeritus (see story, page 80).
Would Gross also be welcomed back to OC’s biggest financial institution? It would be awkward since the firm in 2017 paid Gross $81 million to settle a contentious lawsuit.
No matter: “I wouldn’t go back to PIMCO after what happened to me,” Gross told Brennan.
Speaking of good timing: Gross and Thompson at least are back together in another—and ultimately more—meaningful way: both execs’ family foundations are featured prominently in this week’s centerpiece Largest Charitable Gifts of 2018 list that starts on page 16.
This week’s list features 43 donations topping the $1 million mark, seven more than last year.
Kudos to all the donors, which includes a mix of OC heavy-hitters, under-the-radar philanthropists like Ben and Carmela Du (see story, front page), and a few publicity-shy undisclosed donors.
Any chance OC can hit the 50-entry mark for donors the next go-around?
“It unnerves people to see a CFO smile,” noted Montrose Environmental’s Allan Dicks before a crowd of 700+ people at our CFO of the Year awards ceremony on Jan. 31.
If that’s the case, Hotel Irvine was the area’s most alarming locale that night, thanks to a pair of showstoppers at the 12th annual event. Longtime CFO Master of Ceremonies Murray Rudin, of Riordan, Lewis & Haden, added military pushups to his repertoire, while Tilly’s founder Hezy Shaked made an unscripted appearance on stage to praise the Business Journal.
Tilly’s Mike Henry and Montrose’s Dicks are two of the five CFO profiles you’ll read in this week’s action-packed edition.
Correction: An eagle-eyed reader noted I got the family relations wrong in last’s week’s big Leigh Steinberg profile. Former MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins is the godfather of the NFL’s newly-minted MVP, Patrick Mahomes II.
