RON SIMON
FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN
RSI EQUITY PARTNERS
EST. WEALTH: $1.49b (No. 37)
WHO: Billionaire philanthropist, Horatio Alger Award-winner who has built, sold multiple cabinetmakers, and a homebuilder under the RSI Holding umbrella. Chief executive of Perma-Built until sold; went on to create RSI Home Products in 1989.
WHY: Runs the Simon Family Foundation, whose Simon Scholars program has provided over $100M in financial support of high school, college and grad students.
IN THE NEWS: Gifted funding equivalent to 10 full-tuition scholarships to Chapman University’s Simon Scholar Physician Assistant Program. Will support program for at least five years.
NOTABLE: The Simon Scholars Program is involved in about 20 local high schools, with 1,300 scholarships and counting, valued at more than $40M.
IN THEIR WORDS: “We focus on students who come from difficult life and economic circumstances and yet are determined to overcome the many adversities and obstacles facing them. It has been deeply gratifying to see firsthand the life-altering power of engaging, supporting and nurturing these students who come from all walks of life and ethnicities as they pursue their dream of achieving the American dream of independence and self-sufficiency.”
LEARN MORE: simonscholars.org
