The Doheny Mansion, once home to one of Los Angeles' wealthiest families. Now part of the campus of Mount St. Mary's University. Los Angeles Almanac Photo.
According to the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest persons, California is home to 89 persons/families who, in 2021, each had a personal net worth of at least $2.9 billion. Of these, 26 are residents of Los Angeles County, the highest concentration in any of the state's counties. The combined 2021 wealth of these Los Angeles County billionaires was $159 billion, about 16 percent of the combined wealth of all California billionaires in Forbes' list.
In our list below, the Almanac included an additional five Los Angeles County billionaires who did not make the 2021 Fortune 400 net worth cutoff.
Two of Los Angeles County's wealthiest residents have died since 2020. Eli Broad died in April 2021 at age 87. His net worth in 2020 was valued at $6.9 billion and came mostly from his partnership in the home-building firm Kaufman and Broad and investment in insurance company SunAmerica, was one of the county's wealthiest persons and a prolific philanthropist. He and his wife Edythe, for example, financed the building for The Broad, Downtown L.A.'s newest contemporary art museums. Sumner Redstone died in August 2020 at age 97. His net worth was valued at $2.1 billion and came originally from his father's theater chain, National Amusements, followed by investments in the television and motion picture companies Viacom, CBS, and Paramount.
Ranked by Net Worth. Net worth figures are for October 4, 2021.
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bobby Murphy | $15.2 | 33 | Venice (Los Angeles) | Snapchat | 51* | 10* |
Evan Spiegel | $13.8 | 31 | Los Angeles | Snapchat | 55 | 13 |
David Geffen | $10.5 | 78 | Beverly Hills | Motion Pictures, Music | 71* | 18 |
Patrick Soon-Shiong | $8.9 | 69 | Los Angeles | Pharmaceuticals | 89 | 23 |
Marijke Mars | $8.0 | 57 | Los Angeles | Mars Inc. Heir | 108* | 27* |
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
Stewart & Lynda Resnick | $8.0 | N/A | Beverly Hills | Agriculture, Water | 108* | 27* |
Jeff Skoll | $6.8 | 56 | Los Angeles | eBay | 138* | 31 |
John Tu | $6.7 | 80 | Rolling Hills | Computer Hardware | 141* | 32* |
Meg Whitman | $6.4 | 65 | Los Angeles | eBay | 151* | 34 |
Anthony Ressler | $6.2 | 59 | Los Angeles | Finance | 161* | 35 |
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
Edward Roski, Jr. | $6.1 | 82 | Los Angeles | Real Estate | 168* | 36 |
Tom Gores | $5.9 | 57 | Beverly Hills | Private Equity | 176* | 39* |
Eric Smidt | $5.6 | 61 | Beverly Hills | Harbor Freight Tools | 195* | 43 |
Don Hankey | $5.5 | 78 | Malibu | Auto Loans | 200* | 44 |
Rick Caruso | $4.3 | 62 | Brentwood (Los Angeles) | Real Estate | 261* | 51 |
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
Lynsi Snyder | $4.2 | 39 | Glendora | In-N-Out Burger | 269* | 52 |
Peter Thiel | $4.1 | 53 | Los Angeles | Facebook, Palantir | 273* | 53* |
Steven Udvar-Hazy | $4.1 | 75 | Beverly Hills | Aircraft Leasing | 273* | 54 |
Jean (Gigi) Pritzker | $3.9 | 59 | Los Angeles | Hotel Heir, Investments | 289* | 55* |
Donald Sterling | $3.9 | 87 | Beverly Hills | Real Estate | 289* | 55* |
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
Michael Milken | $3.8 | 75 | Los Angeles | Investments | 300* | 56 |
Anthony Pritzker | $3.7 | 60 | Los Angeles | Hotels, Investments | 310* | 57* |
Steven Spielberg | $3.7 | 74 | Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles) | Motion Picures | 310* | 57 |
Behdad Eghbali | $3.4 | 45 | Los Angeles | Private Equity | 340* | 58* |
Jose E. Feliciano | $3.4 | 48 | Marina del Rey | Private Equity | 340* | 58* |
Name | Net Worth ($ Billion) |
Age | Residence | Source of Wealth | National Rank | California Rank† |
Haim Saban | $3.1 | 76 | Beverly Hills | TV Network, Investments | 368* | 59 |
Travis Kalanick | $2.8 | 44 | Los Angeles | Uber | ---** | 60* |
Sean Parker | $2.8 | 41 | Los Angeles | ---** | 60* | |
Alec Gores | $2.7 | 68 | Beverly Hills | Private Equity | ---** | 61* |
Jeffrey Gundlach | $2.2 | 62 | Los Angeles | Investments | ---** | 61* |
Bruce Karsh | $2.2 | 65 | Los Angeles | Private Equity | ---** | 62 |
† Almanac ranking for California. Mostly follows the 2021 Fortune 400 ranking, however, some at the end of this list fell below the Forbes 400 net worth cutoff at $2.9 billion.
* Tied in Ranking
** Dropped from the Fortune 400. The 2021 list includes only those with a net worth at $2.9 billion or more.
Source: Forbes Magazine