PATRICK SOON-SHIONG
CEO
NANTWORKS LLC
THE MONEY: Invented cancer drug, Abraxane, which is used to treat pancreatic cancer. Would go on to sell drug companies Abraxis and American Pharmaceutical Partners for $9.1 billion combined, according to news reports. Remains involved in other healthcare firms under umbrella of NantWorks. “He has been called the richest man in Los Angeles; he is one of the richest doctors in the world. He has taken four companies public and runs a medical-research initiative with a thousand employees and a half-dozen state-of-the-art laboratories,” summarized a late 2021 profile in the New Yorker. Sister publication Los Angeles Business Journal often lists Soon-Shiong as LA’s wealthiest resident; Forbes ($6.1 billion) and Bloomberg ($9 billion) estimates greatly vary. The Business Journal chose a midpoint figure for his $7.5 billion estimate. Primary residence is a massive campus in Brentwood, with a below-ground basketball court.
WEEKEND WEALTHY: Reported to have spent more than $70 million on Laguna Beach homes over the past six years. Best-known and most-expensive property is city’s Twin Points residence on a bluff between Crescent Bay and Shaw’s Cove. Paid a reported $45 million in 2016 for distinctive property, a record price for the area. Also snapped up other nearby homes for top dollar. Sellers have included fellow multibillionaire Ernest Garcia II, according to reports. How much time he spends in the area is unclear; public sightings in OC are rare.
NOTABLE INVESTMENTS: Owns the Los Angeles Times. Paid $500 million for it and the San Diego Tribune in 2018. Sold the Tribune this July at a reported loss. Has a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. Considered buying Arte Moreno’s Angels last year.
