John A. Sobrato

Last updated
John A. Sobrato
Born (1939-05-23) May 23, 1939 (age 84)
San Francisco, California, US
Education Santa Clara University
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFounder and chairman, The Sobrato Organization
SpouseSusan Sobrato
Children3

John Albert Sobrato (born c. May 23, 1939) [1] is an American billionaire real estate developer, and the founder of the Cupertino, California-based Sobrato Organization, a Silicon Valley development firm specializing in commercial and residential real estate. [2] He has been listed as one of the richest Americans for many years, and he and his family have made large philanthropic donations to a variety of causes.

Contents

Early life

John Sobrato was born to Italian immigrants Ann Ainardi (1915-2000) John Mossimo Sobrato (1895 - 1952). [3] Sobrato's parents met in the 1930s and married in 1938, even though he was 20 years her senior. Sobrato's father owned a popular San Francisco restaurant, John's Rendezvous. After his father's death from cancer in 1952, Sobrato's mother sold the restaurant and used the proceeds to begin investing in real estate. [4]

Career

Sobrato began his own real estate investing in 1957, while still in college at Santa Clara University. [2] [5] Beginning in 1972 he worked closely with another successful Silicon Valley investor, Carl Berg, for many years. [6] He founded the Sobrato Organization in 1979; his son, John Michael Sobrato, took over leadership of the company in 1998. The company grew to hold more than 110 commercial buildings and more than 30 apartment complexes. In 2013, both father and son announced that they were moving away from managing the operations of the company to focus on charitable activities. [2] [7]

Sobrato and his family are listed at #110 on the 2014 Forbes 400 list with an estimated net worth of $4.8 billion, and at #340 on The World's Billionaires list as of May 10, 2014. [8]

Sobrato and his son have both signed on the Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge to donate their wealth for charitable purposes. By the close of 2014, the Sobrato Philanthropies (which encompass the Sobrato Family Foundation, family-directed giving, and corporate giving through The Sobrato Organization) had given more than $314 million in money and property. [1] Major beneficiaries have included Santa Clara University, [1] Sobrato High School, and Bellarmine College Preparatory. [9] In 2015, he and his wife offered the biggest ever individual pledge to the University of San Francisco, worth $15 million. [10]

Personal life

Sobrato and his wife Susan live in Atherton, California. [11] Sue and John have three children, John Michael Sobrato, Sheri Sobrato Brisson, and Lisa Sobrato Sonsini, five grandsons, and two granddaughters. [12] His son John M. Sobrato is a minority owner of San Francisco 49ers.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Company</span> American real estate company

The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more than 300,000 people mainly designed by the Irvine Company. The company was founded by the Irvine family and is currently wholly owned by Donald Bren.

John Thomas Walton was an American war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was also the chairman of True North Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholarship Fund, providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth.

Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over US$1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies across multiple investment areas. According to the OECD, Omidyar Network's financing for 2019 development increased by 10% to US$58.9 million.

Edward Crosby "Ned" Johnson III was an American billionaire businessman who, along with daughter Abigail Johnson, owned and ran Fidelity Investments and Fidelity International until his death in March 2022. In April 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$8.2 billion.

Carl Edwin Berg is an American businessman, real estate investor and venture capitalist. He has been included in Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest people in America several times, and in March 2013 his net worth was estimated at $1.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Skoll</span> Canadian engineer, internet entrepreneur and film producer

Jeffrey Stuart Skoll, OC is a Canadian engineer, billionaire internet entrepreneur and film producer. He was the first president of eBay, eventually using the wealth this gave him to become a philanthropist, particularly through the Skoll Foundation, and his media company Participant Media. He founded an investment firm, Capricorn Investment Group, soon after and currently serves as its chairman. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he graduated from University of Toronto in 1987 and left Canada to attend Stanford University's business school in 1993.

John Arrillaga was an American billionaire real estate developer and philanthropist who was one of the largest landowners in Silicon Valley. He was also a college basketball player when he attended Stanford University.

Christy Ruth Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.

The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States. Its fortune arose in the 20th century, particularly through the founding and expansion of the Hyatt hotel corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Greene</span> American real estate entrepreneur (born 1954)

Jeff Greene is an American real estate entrepreneur. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a candidate in the 2010 Senate election primaries in Florida. He was a candidate in the 2018 Florida Gubernatorial election, but was eliminated in the primary, finishing in fourth place behind eventual nominee Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, whom Greene later endorsed.

John Gandel, an Australian businessman, property developer and philanthropist, made his fortune in the development of commercial real estate as well as shopping centres located in Melbourne, Victoria.

Larry Sonsini is an American lawyer specializing all aspects of corporate law. He is senior partner and founder of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, an international law firm in business and intellectual property law. In 2021, Sonsini was chosen to serve as chair of the board of trustees at Santa Clara University.

Good Ventures is a private foundation and philanthropic organization in San Francisco, and the fifth largest foundation in Silicon Valley. It was co-founded by Cari Tuna, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and her husband Dustin Moskovitz, one of the co-founders of Facebook. Good Ventures adheres to principles of Effective Altruism and aims to spend most or all of its money before Moskovitz and Tuna die. Good Ventures does not have any full-time staff, and instead distributes grants according to recommendations from Open Philanthropy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Woodman</span> American businessman, founder and CEO of GoPro

Nicholas D. Woodman is an American businessman, and the founder and CEO of GoPro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen</span> American philanthropist, educator and author

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is an American philanthropist, educator and author.

Brian Acton is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. Acton is the executive chairman of the Signal Technology Foundation, which he co-founded with Moxie Marlinspike in 2018. As of January 10, 2022, Acton also serves as interim CEO of Signal Messenger LLC.

The Lucas College and Graduate School of Business is one of San Jose State University's schools and colleges. Lucas College is the largest Business school in Silicon Valley with firms in the area employing more of its graduates than from any other university in the United States. Lucas college was founded in 1928 and accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 1967. The college was named after Donald Lucas and his wife Sally Lucas. Donald graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing in 1957. Sally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree in 1959. Donald created the Lucas Dealership Group and the Lucas Trust Ventures, which focused in the business of automobiles and real estate, respectively. Both companies have several locations throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The college was named after the couple for their generous donation, history of philanthropy, and successful careers in Business and Education. 80% of graduates are employed in the Valley. In 2010, the school appeared in Forbes' ranking of the top 20 "Colleges that will make you rich".

Richard Peery is an American billionaire real estate developer.

Joseph "Jay" Paul is an American billionaire real estate developer, based in San Francisco.

References

  1. 1 2 3 David Louie, "Sobrato family makes mark on South Bay", KGO-TV, April 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Members Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine at The Sobrato Organization website
  3. ↑ "San Jose Legends: John Sobrato's generosity is everywhere". San José Spotlight. 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  4. ↑ Elise Banducci, "Head of Silicon Valley Real Estate Development Business Dies at 85", Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, December 19, 2000.
  5. ↑ Frederick W. Marrazzo, Italians in the Santa Clara Valley (Arcadia Publishing, 2007), ISBN   978-0738555621, p. 125. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  6. ↑ Nathan Donato-Weinstein, "Carl Berg's next big adventure", Silicon Valley Business Journal , November 9, 2012.
  7. ↑ Dana Hull, "Sobratos Step Down from Running Daily Operations at the Family's Real Estate Company", Oakland Tribune , July 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ "John A. Sobrato - The Forbes 400 Richest Americans". forbes.com. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
  9. ↑ "Silicon Valley Philanthropic and Real-Estate Paragon John A. Sobrato and His Wife Susan to be Recognized With Lifetime Achievement Award", Business Wire, 2 October 2015. Accessed 17 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Donato-Weinstein, Natahn. "Sobratos making largest-ever individual gift to USF", Biz Journals, 18 November 2015. Accessed 17 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "John A. Sobrato". Forbes. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Members, Purpose & Values - The Sobrato Organization & Sobrato Philanthropies". www.sobrato.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.