Donald Bren

Donald Leroy Bren (born May 11, 1932) is an American billionaire businessman.

He is the chairman and owner of the Irvine Company, a U.S. real estate development corporation.

With a net worth of $16.2 billion, he ranks number 112 on the 2022 Forbes Billionaires List.

Bren is the son of Marion Newbert and Milton Bren.

His Jewish father Milton was a naval officer, talent agent, and movie producer.

His mother Marion, who is of partial Irish descent, was a civic leader.

Following their divorce in 1948, Bren's father remarried Academy Award-winning actress Claire Trevor in the same year.

His mother later got remarried to steel businessman Earle M. Jorgensen in 1953.

Bren graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics.

He failed to qualify for the 1956 Olympic ski team following an injury.

After college, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

In 1958, Bren began his business career by starting the Bren Company to build homes.

In 1963, he and two others started the Mission Viejo Company (MVC), which purchased 10,000 acres to develop the city of Mission Viejo, California.

He was President of MVC from 1963 to 1967.

International Paper bought the Bren Co. for $34 million in 1970.

They sold it back to Bren for $22 million in 1972 due to the recession.

In 1977, Bren joined a group of investors to purchase the 146-year-old Irvine Company.

He became the largest shareholder of the consortium, owning 34.3% of the company, and the vice-chair of the board.

In 1983, as the majority owner of the firm, he was elected chairman of the board.

By 1996, he bought out the remaining shares to become the sole owner.

OC Weekly wrote in 2005 that Bren "wields more power than Howard Hughes ever did, probably as much as any man in America over a concentrated region—determining not only how people live and shop but who governs them."

In 2006, the Los Angeles Times wrote "[s]imply put, Orange County looks like Orange County...because of the influence of [Donald Bren]."

In 2008, BusinessWeek named Bren one of the top ten philanthropists in the nation.

His contributions to various causes such as education, conservation and research exceeded $1 billion.

In 2023, his lifetime contributions reached $2.1 billion.

Bren was honored in the 2010 National Philanthropy Day of Orange County with the "Donald Bren Legacy of Giving Award".

At that time, he said, "I do try to bring the same level of attention to both my philanthropic and business ventures."

Bren has donated over $200 million to support programs in K-12 public schools and higher education institutions in Southern California.

His contributions have benefited the University of California, Irvine, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Chapman University.

The University of California recognised that Bren "has contributed more to support endowed chairs than any other single donor in UC's history."

He had done so privately and through the Donald Bren Charitable Trust.

At UC Irvine, his patronage was honored with the naming of the Bren Events Center, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and Donald Bren Hall after him.

Its Claire Trevor School of the Arts was named after his stepmother.

UC Santa Barbara named Bren Hall and the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, a graduate school, after him in recognition of his donation to "enhance and strengthen the school's core interdisciplinary programs, personnel, and special activities."

UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang said, "Bren's vision for developing a peerless, world-leading institution offering an interdisciplinary program of environmental science, management, and policy has been a tremendous source of inspiration and leadership for the Bren School."

In a 2011 interview, Bren summarized his real estate investment strategy: "What I learned was that when you hold property over the long term, you're able to create better values and you have something tangible to show for it."

Forbes, in its 2019 edition of "The 400 Richest Americans", ranked Bren as the wealthiest real estate developer in the US and 32nd "Richest American" with an estimated net worth of $17 billion.

It is believed that the Irvine Company owns more than 120 million ft² of real estate – the majority of which is in Southern California.

The company's holdings include several hotels, marinas, golf courses, 550 office buildings, 125 apartment complexes and more than 40 shopping centers.

He currently also owns a 97% stake in the MetLife Building in Manhattan.