Patrick Soon-Shiong has held the title of the richest man in Los Angeles for quite some time. The South African born physician had a stunning $13 billion net worth and a mission to fix American health care. Just last June, his healthcare startup NantHealth went public and made him a fortune during its first day on the market. Soon-Shiong is not just a doctor, he's also part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2016 he bought a share in Tribune Publishing, owner of the Los Angeles Times. Soon-Shiong hobnobbed with the rich and notorious, even having dinner with then President-elect Donald Trump at a New Jersey country club.
That was then, this is now. The fact is 2017 has not been good to Patrick Soon-Shiong. Recently, we covered the brouhaha surrounding his donation to the University of Utah and the apparent conflict of interest built into the deal. That isn't the only scrutiny the doctor has faced in recent months. His "Cancer Moonshot 2020" initiative was designed to cure cancer in the next few years. In reality, however, the campaign seems to be nothing more than a marketing tool for Soon-Shiong. The doctor has also taken credit for progress in the Moonshot campaign that appears to be fictional.
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Furthermore, Soon-Shiong has been accused of using his non-profit foundation, NantHealth Foundation, to steer money back into his own companies. The foundation had almost $60 million in expenditures from its founding in 2010 through 2015. Over 70% of that money has been funneled back into the companies or into businesses that do business with his companies.
The website Politico detailed a shady deal whereby Soon-Shiong's foundation was given a building in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Culver City as a private donation. Then, in 2012 the foundation sold the building for a profit of $6.07 million. That same building sold for $13.3 million in 2006. If you know nothing about Los Angeles real estate, know this: prices do not decline by that much, ever. That building now houses more than 20 companies owned by him.
On top of all of this, he is facing a lawsuit over the University of Utah situation and is battling with Tribune chairman Michael Ferro over ownership of the Los Angeles Times.
Basically, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is in a heap of trouble.
His publicly traded companies are losing tens of millions of dollars quarterly. The decline in the value of the stock of NantHealth has decimated Soon-Shiong's net worth and dethroned him as the richest man in Los Angeles.
Elon Musk is now the richest man in Los Angeles.
