Donald Bren of Irvine Company leads parade of OC’s wealthiest

Irvine Company boss Donald Bren leads a cadre of six real estate developers and investors who combine for $47 billion in personal net worth in Orange County.

Bren remains the nation’s largest real estate developer and richest person in the Southern California enclave known for its extensive coastline and reality-TV persona — and lesser known as one of largest and most vibrant markets in the U.S. His personal wealth stands at $18.3 billion, the Orange County Business Journal reports in the latest edition of its annual OC’s Wealthiest list. 

Bren has the biggest of six fortunes based on real estate development and investment among the 41 entries on this year’s list. There are considerably more individuals represented by real estate fortunes, with one listing that includes a husband-and-wife team and another that covers multiple generations of a family behind some of the most high-profile properties in OC.

Following Bren, with rankings noted parenthetically, are: Igor Olenicoff of Olen Properties at $9.4 billion (8th); Ed Roski of Majestic Realty at $7.2 billion (10th); Rick Caruso of Caruso at $5.8 billion (13th); George and Julia Argyros of Arnel & Affiliates at $3.6 billion (19th); and the Segerstrom family of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons at $2.8 billion (25th).

Another member of the list, Anthony Hsieh, has ties to real estate on the financial side as founder of loanDepot. His fortune is estimated at $1.3 billion (41st).

Most of the people on the list are based in Orange County both personally and professionally. Some, however, have part-time ties to the market, typically accented by sizable investments or ultra-expensive homes — the latter a common case due to the luxury magnets of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and other coastal cities.

Caruso and Roski, for example, are generally considered residents of Los Angeles, but both have homes and interests in Orange County. Caruso owns a waterfront home in Newport Beach and has sat on the board of Bren’s Irvine Company. Roski’s industrial portfolio includes holdings in Orange County, and he also has a home there.

Bren has been a member of the Business Journal’s Wealthiest list for decades, taking the top spot more often than not. His constant presence owes primarily to the Irvine Company and its development of the Irvine Ranch lands that cover parts of what is now Newport Beach, all of the City of Irvine and other chunks of Orange County.

The Irvine Company owns a total of 129 million square feet of real estate developments, with nearly 600 office buildings, 125 apartment properties accounting for around 65,000 units, 40 retail centers, a coastal resort, three golf courses and five marinas, according to the company. 

The majority of its holdings are in Orange County, with San Diego and the Silicon Valley accounting for significant totals, and some in Chicago. The company’s holdings also include the MetLife building next to Grand Central Station in New York City’s Midtown district.