What Is Donald Bren's Net Worth?
Donald Bren is an American businessman who has a net worth of $18 billion. Donald Bren is the chairman of the Irvine Group and is widely regarded as the wealthiest real estate developer in the United States. The Irvine Group is the largest private landowner in California, owning 120 million square feet of office space, in addition to hundreds of apartment complexes, shopping centers, golf courses, hotels, and marinas. He is also known for his philanthropic activities and has donated well over $1 billion to various charities and foundations.
Early Years
Donald Leroy Bren was born on May 11, 1932, in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Hollywood movie producer, talent agent, and real estate developer Milton Bren and his wife Marion (Newbert), a civic leader and philanthropist.
Bren's parents divorced in 1948, and his father married Academy Award-winning American actress Claire Trevor later that year. In 1953, Donald's mother married Earle Jorgensen, a businessman in the steel industry.
Bren graduated from the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, with a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration. He then served in the United States Marine Corps.
Real Estate & Urban Planning
In 1958, Donald founded the house-building company The Bren Company. In 1963, Donald and two others set up the Mission Viejo Company (MVC) and purchased 10,000 acres to plan and develop the city of Mission Viejo, California. Bren served as the President of MVC from 1963 to 1967. International Paper acquired Bren Co. for $34 million in 1970. Donald re-acquired MVC for $22 million in 1972 following a recession.
In 1963, Bren cofounded "The Mission Viejo Company," which developed the California city of Mission Viejo—a 10,000-acre master-planned community. He helped draft the urban plan, which designated where the roads and houses would be placed in accordance with the natural layout of the contoured land.
In 1977, Donald and additional investors purchased The Irvine Company – a private American real estate development company. Bren initially served as vice-chairman of the board and owned 34.3% of the company. In 1983, he was elected chairman of the board, and by 1966, he had purchased all shares of the company. The Irvine Company currently owns hundreds of hotels, apartment buildings, office buildings, golf courses, and shopping centers.
ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
Philanthropy
In 2000, Bren donated $25 million to the Irvine Unified School District in California. In 2003, he donated $1 million to the Marine Corps University, a military education organization in Quantico, Virginia.
In 2006, Donald again donated to the Irvine Unified School District in the amount of $20 million. The following year, he donated $20 million to the new University of California at Irvine School of Law. The money was to be used in recruiting a dean and legal scholars. That same year, he committed to a donation of $2.5 million to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California. The donation resulted in The Donald Bren Presidential Chair, which funneled the money into researching an array of diseases.
In 2008, "BusinessWeek" magazine ranked Bren among the top ten philanthropists in the United States. His financial contributions to worthy causes exceed $2 billion. Over $60 million of that amount has been contributed to support California's educational institutions, such as the University of California in Irvine and Santa Barbara and Chapman University in Orange, California.
In 2001, Donald made a financial contribution to Think Together, a California-based nonprofit organization that provides after-school programs for underprivileged and low-income children in Southern California.
Over the years, Donald has donated over 55,000 acres of California land to be utilized for parks, recreation areas, and wilderness preserves.
(Photo by Don Kelsen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Money & Influence
In 2006, "The Los Angeles Times" newspaper ranked Bren as the wealthiest and most powerful person in Southern California. That same year, "The Orange County Business Journal" named him "Businessperson of the Year."
In 2009, the British newspaper "The Sunday Times" ranked Donald #9 on its "Green Rich List," which ranked the 100 richest people who have invested in green businesses or made financial contributions to environmental causes.
In 2011, the global nonprofit research and educational organization The Urban Land Institute awarded Bren its first Vanguard Award.
In 2014, Donald was named one of "The 100 Most Influential People in Orange County."
Accolades
In 1998, Bren was awarded the Marine Corps University Foundation's Semper Fidelis Award.
The University of California at Irvine has honored Donald and his gracious financial contributions by naming their 5,608-seat indoor arena The Donald Bren Events Center. The university also houses The Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences.
The University of California at Santa Barbara has shown their gratitude for Donald's financial contributions by opening Bren Hall in 2002 and founding the graduate environmental studies school The Bren School of Environmental Science and Management.
In 2003, the Marine Corps University Foundation awarded him the General Leonard F. Chapman Medallion.
In 2004, Donald was awarded the University of California Presidential Medal.
Personal Life
Donald has three children with his first wife, Diane. He has one child with his second wife, Mardelle, whom he married in 1977. In 1998, Bren married entertainment attorney Brigitte Muller, and the couple has one child. Donald has three additional children from two former relationships.
