FOUNDED: 1882—Richard O’Neill Sr., an Irish immigrant, became friends with another Irishman, James Flood. O’Neill persuaded Flood to buy over 205K acres of Southern California ranch land, making it one of the largest private landholdings in California history. This land stretched from present-day Oceanside to Lake Forest, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Santa Ana Mountains. Flood provided the money for the purchase, and O’Neill Sr. took on the role of ranch manager.
LEGACY LEADERSHIP: Richard O’Neill Sr. managed the ranch for 24 years. According to the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, he earned Flood an annual income of $100K during that time. Company donated 125K acres for what has become Camp Pendleton, largest Marine base on the West Coast. Donated land for what became Providence Mission Hospital, largest hospital system in South County; last year, also donated hospital’s largest ever gift: $50M.
HQ: San Juan Capistrano
DEFINING MOMENT: The arrival of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in the 1960s transformed a predominantly rural Orange County into a suburban destination. In the 1960s, descendants of founder Richard O’Neill Sr. formed the development company that would become Rancho Mission Viejo. Anthony Moiso, a direct descendant of Richard O’Neill Sr., in the 1960s took on the role of managing the family’s land. Donald Bren urged the leadership to develop the land rather than sell it piecemeal. Bren became the first president of the newly formed development company. The family master-planned Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch and Rancho Santa Margarita. Today it is developing the 23K-acre Rancho Mission Viejo community while preserving approximately 17K acres as open space. The site will include 14K homes and 5M s/f of commercial space on 6K acres.
QUOTABLE: “It all comes back to Tony and the culture he sets from the very top. It’s really hard at Rancho Mission Viejo to be anything other than the best version of yourself or a good person because the guy above you is doing that… He tells everybody, every day, your real life comes first. He’ll walk the office at 5:01 p.m. and if you’re still in your office, he’ll reach in and turn your light off.” —CEO Jeremy Laster
FUN FACT: Richard J. O’Neill served as a prominent Democratic activist after joining the Democratic Party’s Orange County central committee in 1964. He later served as the party’s southern chairman and state chairman.
