Sean Burton

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, Cityview

Burton, who served in the White House during the Clinton Administration, co-founded Cityview, Los Angeles’ largest multifamily developer, in 2003. Burton has campaigned for Democrats and is close with Mayor Karen Bass but is still critical of Measure ULA — which hits real estate trades with a 4 percent levy on deals of more than $5 million, and 5.5 percent on deals priced at more than $10 million — and believes the so-called mansion tax (that recently drew rumblings of a reform) has redlined the city. 

Cityview, which has offices in Dallas and New York, is no longer underwriting new deals in the City of Los Angeles — rather, it recently completed development of a 265-apartment community called the Apollo in Los Angeles County’s South Bay near SpaceX headquarters outside of Measure ULA’s reach. 

Burton was previously vice president of corporate business development and strategy at Warner Bro and an attorney in the real estate and corporate groups at O’Melveny & Myers. Cityview has invested approximately $6.5 billion in more than 150 projects throughout the country, and operated and developed nearly 20,000 apartments spanning 17 markets.

Burton’s father-in-law is Henry Cisneros, President Bill Clinton’s Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary appointee. 

— Alena Botros