THE MONEY: Larry Van Tuyl’s father, Cecil, opened the family’s car dealership in 1952. He joined the company in 1971 and helped build it into the third-largest car dealership network in the country by the late 1990s. Sold a controlling interest in his family’s car dealerships to Berkshire Hathaway for a reported $4.1B in stock in 2015, when group counted some 78 dealerships, which together sold 240K vehicles per year, and in 2013 had almost $8B in revenue. Fortune spread among several family members.
THE ORACLE: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire’s shares have nearly doubled in price since the 2015 sale. Became chairman of what’s now Berkshire Hathaway Automotive but stepped down from the position after a five-year term. He’s buying dealerships on his own again, up to at least 10, including two in Colorado this year. Primary residence is said to be in Arizona.
WEEKEND WEALTHY: Has a formidable real estate presence in OC. In 2018, paid a reported $55M for a Corona del Mar compound along the water. Sale included two technically separate, although adjoining, properties. Property, including the iconic “Big Blue House,” was bought from the Irvine family heirs.
THE YACHT: Owns a mega yacht, called Vanish, that’s been valued at about $125M. The ship was launched in 2016 by Feadship and counts two helipads, an outdoor cinema, a gym, sauna, massage room, beach club and includes “a free-standing staircase flanked by a glass wall over three decks,” the Dutch luxury boat maker’s website says.
