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Grizzly Bulls’ Billionaires Index

⬅ # 810 Charles Zegar|# 812 T.S. Kalyanaraman ➡

# 811 Donald Sterling 

$3.92B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 7/2/2024
-$334 (-0.00%)

# 811 Donald Sterling 

$3.92B

Real Time Net Worth
as of 7/2/2024
-$334 (-0.00%)
OccupationFounder, Sterling Properties
Source of WealthReal Estate
Age90
ResidenceBeverly Hills, California
Marital StatusMarried
Children3
EducationBS, California State Los Angeles; JD, Southwestern Law School
Age-Adjusted Net Worth$514.30M
Donald Sterling
Donald Sterling
United States
Net worth: $3.92B

Self-Made Score 

Wealth History

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Biography

Overview

Donald Sterling, a billionaire real estate mogul, amassed his wealth primarily through strategic investments in commercial and residential properties in Los Angeles.
He began his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney before transitioning into real estate investment in the 1960s.
Sterling's early investments, including his first apartment building acquisition in Beverly Hills, laid the foundation for his real estate empire.
Through astute acquisitions and development projects, Sterling built a vast portfolio, becoming one of the largest apartment owners in the Los Angeles area by the 1980s.
His real estate holdings, managed through Sterling Properties, Inc., contributed significantly to his billionaire status.
In addition to his real estate ventures, Sterling gained prominence as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, though his ownership was marred by controversy.

Early Life

Donald Sterling, born Donald Tokowitz, was born on April 26, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois.
He attended California State University, Los Angeles, and later Southwestern University School of Law.
Sterling initially worked as a divorce and personal injury attorney.
He ventured into real estate investment in the 1960s, focusing on properties in Los Angeles.
His first acquisition was an apartment building in Beverly Hills in 1961, marking the beginning of his real estate career.
Sterling changed his surname to Sterling to match his real estate endeavors.

Real Estate Empire

Sterling established a significant real estate portfolio, encompassing commercial and residential properties in Los Angeles.
Through strategic acquisitions and development projects, he amassed substantial wealth.
Sterling Properties, Inc. emerged as his primary real estate investment vehicle.
His holdings included luxury apartments, office buildings, and shopping centers.
By the 1980s, Sterling was recognized as one of the largest apartment owners in the Los Angeles area.

Ownership of the Clippers

In 1981, Sterling purchased the San Diego Clippers NBA franchise for $12.5 million.
He relocated the team to Los Angeles in 1984, renaming them the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sterling's ownership of the Clippers spanned over three decades.
During his tenure, the Clippers struggled, often finishing at the bottom of the league standings.
In 2014, Sterling faced severe backlash and was banned from the NBA for life following racist remarks he made in a private conversation.
His ownership of the Clippers was terminated, and he was fined $2.5 million by the NBA.

Controversies

Donald Sterling was embroiled in numerous controversies throughout his life.
He faced multiple lawsuits alleging racial discrimination in his real estate practices.
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice sued him for housing discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics.
Recordings released in 2014 revealed Sterling making racist remarks, leading to widespread condemnation.
These remarks resulted in his ban from the NBA and the termination of his ownership of the Clippers.
Sterling's controversial actions significantly impacted his reputation and public perception.

Personal Life

Sterling has been married twice and has three children.
Known for his lavish lifestyle, he owns multiple properties, luxury cars, and a private jet.

How long would it take you to become as rich as Donald Sterling?

If you started with $10,000 and invested an additional $500 each month at a 44.06% CAGR, it would take you 5 years to reach Donald Sterling's net worth of $3.92B.

Is this realistic? It depends how closely the VIX-TA-Macro Advanced model performs to its history in the future. Since Grizzly Bulls launched on January 1, 2022, it's returned 48.24% compared to 16.19% for the S&P 500 benchmark.

Enter data in all but one field below, then calculate the missing value

Donald Sterling is very wealthy, but what's stopping you from reaching that same level of success? As summarized in our five fundamental rules to wealth building, becoming wealthy in a modern capitalist economy is not complicated. There's actually only three variables:

  1. Your starting capital
  2. Your earnings after expenses
  3. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of your savings

Most people start with zero or very little, so if you weren't born into wealth, don't fret! The majority of the fortunate folks listed in our Grizzly Bulls’ Billionaires Index came from middle class or lower backgrounds. The most distinguishing characteristic of the group is their ability to consistently earn a high CAGR on their savings.

Every billionaire has a unique strategy to achieve high CAGR. For Donald Sterling, Real Estate is the primary source. Whether you choose to invest your savings in your own businesses or the businesses of others is not as important. The salient piece of the puzzle is ensuring that your hard-earned savings are generating sufficient CAGR to reach your long term goals.

Most people simply invest their money in index funds and call it a day. There's nothing wrong with this approach, but it guarantees relative mediocrity. To achieve greatness, you need to invest your money to earn higher than average returns. In the long run, better investors will always finish ahead of better earners.

Source: Grizzly Bulls reporting

Methodology: Grizzly Bulls' Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's billionaires and richest people. Grizzly Bulls strives to provide the most accurate net worth calculations available. We pull data from public equity markets, SEC filings, public real estate records, and other reputable sources.

The index is dynamic and updates daily at the close of U.S. stock market trading based on changes in the markets, economy, and updates to Grizzly Bulls' proprietary algorithm of personal wealth calculation. Stakes in public companies are tracked daily based on the relevant closing prices of the underlying securities. Additionally, stakes in private companies, cash, real estate, and other less easily valued assets are updated periodically through careful analysis of insider transactions, comparable public company sales / EBITDA multiples, etc.

Edited by: Lee Bailey