Fred Taylor appears to be making more big dollar moves in Irvine, in his firm’s traditional low-key manner.
Taylor, the “T” in TGS, an extremely secretive quant hedge fund with multiple offices in Irvine, has been part of the Business Journal’s annual listing of OC’s Wealthiest for years, after a national report came out nearly a decade ago that stated TGS’ hedge fund managers had “secretly directed one of the largest pools of philanthropic capital for years,” one it estimated at more than $13 billion.
In OC, TGS news has largely been real estate driven.
The firm leases a full building—one that never appears to be particularly busy—at the high-end Spectrum Terrace office complex. It also built a data center for its own uses not far away.
Near the start of 2023, an LLC that Taylor controls spent $240 million for 42 acres of vacant land in the city. Uses for the site haven’t been disclosed.
Now Taylor’s making a few more headlines for work being done in Irvine, for philanthropic causes.
A report last month in Inside Philanthropy notes that Sequoia Climate Foundation, a grantmaker created four years ago, has quickly become “a giant in climate philanthropy,” one that “has started moving money at a rate truly befitting its towering namesake.”
The foundation estimates it will send out $267 million this year, Inside Philanthropy reports, placing the upstart among the largest environmental-focused giving groups in the world.
Sequoia is based in Irvine and has office space at TGS’ longtime HQ in the city. Taylor appears to be the primary backer of the new group, Inside Philanthropy reports.
For more on some other real estate news from TGS, see next week’s print edition.
March 10th’s Academy Awards capped the movie industry’s biggest week of the year, which made it somewhat surprising that OC’s best-known player in the film world, Foothill Ranch-based high-end camera company Red Digital Cinema, announced its sale a few days earlier in such a low-key manner.
Red, founded by Jim Jannard, who sold local sunglass maker Oakley for $2.1 billion in 2007, and whose technology is used for numerous movies and TV shows, said on March 6 that it was being sold to Japan’s Nikon Corp.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Red will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nikon, according to a statement.
Jannard didn’t comment on the transaction, which has yet to close. On Instagram, Red President Jarred Land posted a picture of himself and Jannard in Japan at the time the deal was struck.
“Two Cowboys from California sitting in Tokyo reminiscing on 20 years of absolute insanity,” Land wrote. “What a ride. Thanks Jim.”
Making apparel products for the military, first responders and similar customers has paid off well for Costa Mesa’s 5.11; see Emily Santiago-Molina’s front-page story for the company’s expansion plans under the guidance of new CEO Troy Brown.
M-Experiment, a new, Oakley-esque sunglass company unveiled last year by Jim Jannard his son Jamin Jannard, has found a similar base of customers.
Last week saw the Lake Forest company launch a limited edition of glasses with an Army theme; priced around $155 each, they sold out immediately.
