Bill Witte and Keiko Sakamoto
CO-FOUNDERS
WITTE-SAKAMOTO FAMILY FOUNDATION
WHO: Bill Witte is chairman and CEO of Irvine-based multifamily, mixed-use developer Related California. Overseeing $3B mixed-use Santa Ana project to redevelop 42 acres. He’s also the former San Francisco Deputy Mayor for Housing and Neighborhoods. Keiko Sakamoto, his wife, is the attorney, CFO and secretary of their philanthropy nonprofit, the Witte-Sakamoto Family Foundation.
WHY: Longtime contributors of Santa Ana anti-hate nonprofit Groundswell, formerly OC Human Relations Council. Witnessed OC’s demographic changes through Related California’s affordable housing developments in Anaheim, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana. Witte is also a regular donor to his alma mater, University of Pennsylvania.
IN THE NEWS: The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation and the City of Newport Beach broke ground on a $23M lecture hall called Witte Hall, named in recognition of a donation from Witte and Sakamoto. The lecture hall will run nearly 10,000 square feet and seat 299 guests.
NOTABLE: Witte founded Related California’s division in 1989. He’s responsible for the development of over 20,700 residential units, completed or under construction, which total more than $10.3B in assets.
IN THEIR WORDS: “Giving back to the communities in which we live and work is important to our values as a family, and part of what we do as a company that develops affordable and mixed-income housing in Orange County and across California.” –Bill Witte
