Talking to Bob Cluck, 30-year Chairman of Newport beach-based Canterbury Consulting Inc. Cluck’s family office manages $18.5B. He knows wealth.
Asked Cluck about OC’s wealthy, any recurring traits or contrasts to other parts.
“I’m halfway through “Bad Blood,” have you read it?” Cluck asked.
(Hate book questions) “Bad Blood” is John Carreyrou’s book about CEO Elizabeth Holmes, founder of hyped biotech company Theranos. As we now know, Theranos’ blood-testing device didn’t work and Holmes has been indicted for fraud.
“When she (Holmes) was 9-years-old and asked what she wanted to be, she said ‘a billionaire,’” Cluck said.
“My guess is if you asked Donald Bren at nine, his life’s goal wasn’t to be a billionaire – for Bren and many of the people on your list the finish line isn’t the objective. They don’t stop working, they never reach the finish line, and their purpose in life isn’t making money. It’s being relevant. It’s to be purposeful.
“When Holmes said billionaire?”
“That’s the tipoff.”
Enjoy our 18th annual OC’s Wealthiest Special Report, starts on p.1, feature on “the survivor,” loanDepot boss Anthony Hsieh. Special Report, begins on p.5.
Spoke with fund of funds Tsarina Jane Buchan this week as well, to enlist her insights on OC wealth and deliver kudos on an 18-year-run at her firm PAAMCO. Buchan will leave at the end of the year to “to return to her roots” in direct investing through a new quantitative investment fund.
“Starting your own firm in 2000 (she had three partners) was there a turning point?
“There were two clients, large pension funds,” Buchan said. “They went with us, first two clients. They’re still with us.”
Jim Madden, managing partner of private equity and venture capital investor Carrick Capital Partners, LLC told me months back, he loves to look at a prospect’s customers—how long have they been clients, what do they say about this company? Carrick may want to talk to those pension fund managers that have stayed with PAAMCO.
Wiener National’s… If you drove past Los Alamitos Race Course a few weeks back you thought the The Sport of Kings was back. Nope. The dogs were back, the Wiener Dogs. The annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals drew 75 entries, raised $240,000 for Seal Beach Animal Care Center. 9,000 at the track for racing dachshunds.
Can they race five days a week?
