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In Memoriam—Bob Campbell: CT Realty Cofounder, Philanthropist

Campbell: “a heart for helping the working poor”

Robert “Bob” Campbell, a longtime Orange County real estate developer and investor who was known as much for his local philanthropic work, passed away Dec. 15.

He was 71.

As cofounder and chairman of Aliso Viejo-based CT Realty Investors, Campbell led one of the most active real estate investment companies in the region, buying and selling more than $2.5 billion worth of properties.

The company, founded in 1994 by Campbell and friend and business associate U.T. Thompson, now is one of the more active buyers of industrial buildings in Southern Cal-ifornia. The company also buys apartments and other properties.

Campbell’s real estate career spanned more than 40 years, and over that time he developed a reputation of being one of Cal-ifornia’s most astute investors and developers.

Prior to cofounding CT Realty, he was general partner of Laguna Niguel-based developer Birtcher Campbell Properties, where he worked for 20 years.

While at Birtcher Campbell, he helped develop more than 11 million square feet of office, retail and hotel properties. He also was a founder and past chairman of Pacific National Bank in Newport Beach.

Described as having “a heart for helping the working poor,” Campbell’s philanthropic efforts often overshadowed his real estate and business work.

Along with good friend and fellow developer John Parker, who passed away earlier this year, Campbell was part of the group that helped create the Building Block Foundation Fund.

The organization, one of OC’s top philanthropies for commercial real estate leaders, raises funds and provides hands-on help for programs supporting the area’s underprivileged youth.

Campbell—a two-time graduate of UCLA’s business school, and a former assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles—also was an enthusiastic supporter of University of California, Irvine, and its Paul Merage School of Business Real Estate Center, where he was a charter board member.

In 2003, he received UC Irvine’s Graduate School of Management’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year, the school honored him with a “Power Packed Philanthropist” award.

Among other accolades, Campbell was honored with Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2003 for his real estate work.

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Mark Mueller
Mark Mueller
Mark is the Editor-in-Chief of the Orange County Business Journal, one of the premier regional business newspapers in the country. He’s the fifth person to hold the editor’s position in the paper’s long history. He oversees a staff of about 15 people. The OCBJ is considered a must-read for area business executives. The print edition of the paper is the primary source of local news for most of the Business Journal’s subscribers, which includes most of OC’s major corporate and community players. Mark’s been with the paper since 2005, and long served as the real estate reporter for the paper, breaking hundreds of commercial and residential real estate stories. He took on the editor’s position in 2018.
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