Nine Orange County residents made the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, released Sept. 19.
All nine were included in the Aug. 6 OC’s Wealthiest edition of the Orange County Business Journal, an annual list of the richest residents here.
The Business Journal and Forbes use various methods to estimate the net worth of the individuals listed, and they often vary.
The Forbes list had a cutoff of $1.1 billion. The Business Journal’s cutoff was $250 million.
Estimates for the No. 1 ranked entry on this year’s Business Journal list—Donald Bren, chairman of Newport Beach-based developer Irvine Company—were the same at $13 billion. That put Bren in the No. 24 spot on Forbes’ list.
Developer Igor Olenicoff, owner of Olen Properties Corp. in Newport Beach, was ranked second on the Business Journal list, with an estimated net worth of $2.75 billion. Forbes had an estimate of $2.4 billion, for the 190th spot on its list.
The biggest disparity on estimates by the two publications came on Jim Jannard, owner of Red Digital Cinema Camera Co. in Irvine.
Forbes estimated Jannard’s net worth at $2.8 billion, for No. 150 on its list. The Business Journal pegged Jannard at $1.6 billion, for No. 7, with a drop of $1.5 billion from a year earlier.
The estimate was cut after Jannard told the Business Journal that he had given away half of his wealth over the past year.
Estimates for David Sun and John Tu, cofounders of Kingston Technology Co. in Fountain Valley, were the same for both publications at $2.6 billion apiece. The pair was tied at the No. 3 spot on the Business Journal’s list, and also tied on the Forbes list, at No. 170.
The estimates also lined up at $2.3 billion for Bill Gross of Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach. Pimco’s cofounder and co-chief investment officer ranked No. 5 on the Business Journal’s list and No. 206 on Forbes’.
The Business Journal estimated the net worth of George Argyros, owner of Arnel & Affiliates in Costa Mesa, at $1.5 billion, good for No. 8 on our list. Forbes pegged Argyros at $1.9 billion, which put him at No. 250 on its list.
The Business Journal’s estimate on Henry Samueli, founder and chairman of Broadcom Corp. in Irvine, was higher than Forbes at $2.15 billion and put him in the No. 6 spot on our list. Forbes estimated Samueli at $1.8 billion, good for No. 271 on its list.
Forbes estimated Broadcom cofounder Henry Nicholas at $1.3 billion and placed him at No. 347. The Business Journal had Nicholas at $1.5 billion, at No. 8 on our list.
Forbes estimated the net worth of Arte Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at $1.1 billion, ranking him No. 392. The Business Journal included Moreno—who lives in Phoenix—only in our Weekend Wealthy, a list of individuals who are part-time OC residents.
