Donald Bren
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| Donald Leroy Bren | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 (age 76–77) Los Angeles, California |
| Residence | Newport Beach, California[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Washington[2] |
| Occupation | Chairman of the Board, The Irvine Company |
| Net worth | $12 Billion[3] |
| Known for | Real Estate Development |
| Spouse(s) | Brigitte (Muller) Bren[4] |
| Children | 7 |
| Website http://www.donald-bren.com |
|
Donald L. Bren (born 1932) is an American real estate mogul and chairman of the Irvine Company. He and his wife, attorney Brigitte (Muller) Bren, reside in Newport Beach, California.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Bren is the son of Hollywood producer Milton Bren and his wife, civic leader Marion (Newbert) Bren. His parents divorced in 1947, and Bren's father married Academy Award-winning actress Claire Trevor in 1948. His mother remarried in 1953, to steel entrepreneur Earle M. Jorgensen.
Bren attended the University of Washington for two years on a ski scholarship, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and received a bachelor's degree in business administration.[2] He tried out for the 1956 Olympic ski team but did not qualify due to an injury.[5] After college he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.[6]
Bren built his first house in Newport Beach with a $10,000 loan in 1958. In 1963, he and two others started the Mission Viejo Company (MVC) to plan and develop the 10,000-acre city of Mission Viejo, California. He was President of MVC from 1963 to 1967.[7] International Paper bought MVC for $34 million in 1970,[8] and then sold it back to Bren for $22 million in 1972 following the recession and once the superheated property market cooled .[9] Bren took the proceeds from MVC (later sold to Philip Morris[3]) and in 1977 joined a group of investors to purchase the 145-year-old Irvine Company. Bren was the largest shareholder of the resulting consortium, owning 34.3% of the company and receiving the title of Vice-chair of the board.[10] By 1983, he was the majority owner of the firm.[11] By 1996, he had bought out all outstanding shares to become the sole owner.[3]
Forbes, in its 2008 edition of "The 400 Richest Americans", ranked Bren as the wealthiest real estate developer in the US with an estimated net worth of $12 billion.[3]
[edit] Philanthropy and honors
Bren is a donor to many Orange County institutions, including the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University, and the Orange County Museum of Art. At UCI, the Bren Events Center, the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the recently-built Donald Bren Hall are named after him, honoring his patronage of the school. UCI also named its Claire Trevor School of the Arts after his stepmother, and University of California, Santa Barbara named Bren Hall and the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management after him as well.
 The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences viewed from the top of Bren Hall, UCI |
 Basketball court of the Bren Events Center before a game, UCI |
 Bren Hall, UCSB |
Bren is on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Orange County Museum of Art, and is a Caltech trustee. He also is a Fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a trustee emeritus of the UCI Foundation.[12]
In August 2007, Bren pledged $20 million to the recently-established University of California, Irvine School of Law. The purpose of the gift was to establish an endowment to help recruit and support a nationally recognized dean and 11 distinguished law scholars, and also to provide the dean with discretionary start-up funding. In recognition of the gift, the school was initially named the UCI Donald Bren School of Law. In 2008 an agreement was reached between Bren and UCI that the school would not bear his name. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school, said, "We are deeply grateful for the Bren gift, but it was decided between the chancellor and Mr. Bren that our name should be parallel to other UC schools."[13]
In February 2008, he gave $8.5 million to THINK Together, a provider of after-school services for Santa Ana-area K-6 students.[14]
In March 2009, he was ranked 9th[15] in The Sunday Times's "Green Rich List"—a list of the 100 wealthiest people who have either invested in green technology/businesses or made large contributions to environmental causes.[16] Bren's placement on the list was due to his $20 million in donations to UCSB's School of Environmental Science.[17]
[edit] Personal life
Since 2003, Bren has been engaged in a child support conflict with two of his children and their mother, and is fighting their attempts to determine the extent of his wealth.[18][19] Through his attorney, Bren declared to the court that he earned an average of $14.4 million a year since 1988,[20][21] disagreeing with Forbes's estimate of his worth.[22] A state appeals court ruled in 2005 that he must be more forthcoming,[23] as did a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in 2008.[24]
Bren is a strong supporter of Republicans, with Forbes describing him in 2008 as "actively involved in McCain's presidential bid."[3] He and his wife have donated large sums to the RNC and to primarily Republican candidates. The Center for Responsive Politics database shows less than 1% of his donations have gone to Democrats.[25]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Pasco, Jean (January 8, 2006). "Billionaire’s Plans Put Community En Garde". LA Times: p. B4. http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jan/08/local/me-bren8. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ a b Holtzman, Clay (February 23, 2007). "Donald Bren has given millions to other schools, but not to his alma mater—yet". Puget Sound Business Journal. http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/apps/dailyclips/scraped/focus4.html. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ a b c d e "400 Richest Americans". Forbes. September 17, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Donald-Bren_31KV.html. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ Apodaca, Patrice (May 14, 1998). "Billionaire Developer Weds". LA Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/may/14/local/me-49656. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "Our Wondrous One Hundred". The University of Washington Alumni Magazine: p. 1. June 2008. http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/june08/content/view/79/1/. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ University of California (2004-06-09). "Donald Bren awarded UC Presidential Medal". Press release. http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6446. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ "Donald Bren's view". OCRegister. August 4, 2006. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/donald-brens-view-1233606. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ "#27 Donald L Bren". Forbes. September 21, 2006. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Donald-L-Bren_31KV.html. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- ^ Hector, Gary (August 27, 1990). "AMERICA'S RICHEST LAND BARON: Donald Bren's stunning property covers 100 square miles of California. He's worth $2 billion now, and his build and hold strategy promises to keep his wealth climbing". Fortune. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1990/08/27/73941. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ Liebeck, Judy (1990). Myrtle Malone. ed. Irvine: A History of Innovation and Growth. Houston, TX: Pioneer Publications, Inc.. ISBN 9781881547105. http://www.irvineranchhistory.com/ranch_history.html.
- ^ Richman, Louis S. (October 12, 1987). "The Real Estate Men". Fortune. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1987/10/12/69654/. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ http://www.foundation.uci.edu/board-members.asp
- ^ Reiff, Rick (October 20, 2008). "It’s Agreed: No Bren Name on UCI Law School". Orange County Business Journal. http://www.ocbj.com/industry_article_pay.asp?aID=478946703.4623119.1697124.0805136.4861014.926&aID2=130539. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ Delson, Jennifer (February 20, 2008). "After-school help program gets gift". LA Times: p. B8. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/feb/20/local/me-bren20. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Beresford, Philip (March 1, 2009). "The Green Rich List". The Sunday Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/article5816774.ece. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ Beresford, Philip (March 1, 2009). "Eco barons lead the way". The Sunday Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article5821334.ece. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Donald Bren (USA)". The Sunday Times. March 1, 2009. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article5820824.ece. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ Parsons, Dana (May 18, 2003). "Tidy Lawn a Strange Place for Wild Oats". LA Times: p. B3. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/18/local/me-parsons18. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Pasco, Jean (May 18, 2003). "Lawsuit Spotlight Not Part of Bren Plan". LA Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/18/local/me-bren18. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Spano, Ohn (December 25, 2007). "Bren asked for millions by children". LA Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/25/local/me-bren25. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ Pasco, Jean (October 30, 2005). "Bren Aims to Keep Riches Private". LA Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/30/local/me-bren30. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Serafin, Tatiana (October 29, 2006). "A (Bigger) Check Is in the Mail". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1009/048b.html. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Goffard, Christopher (April 19, 2007). "Bren’s children allowed to sue him". LA Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/19/local/me-bren19. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ Gittelsohn, John (January 3, 2008). "Bren dodges financial disclosure". OC Register (Orange County Register Communications). http://www.ocregister.com/news/bren-children-month-1955634-million-chodos. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ "OpenSecrets.org Donor Lookup: Bren, D". Center for Responsive Politics. http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=Bren%2C+D&state=CA&zip=&employ=&cand=&all=Y&sort=D&capcode=cs2vw&submit=Submit. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
