LARRY VAN TUYL
CO-OWNER
VAN TUYL COMPANIES.
THE MONEY: Van Tuyl’s father, Cecil, opened the family’s car dealership in 1952. Van Tuyl joined the company in 1971, helped build it into the third-largest car dealership network in the country by late 1990s. Sold a controlling interest in his family’s car dealerships to Berkshire Hathaway for a reported $4.1 billion in stock in March 2015, when group counted some 78 dealerships, which together sold 240,000 vehicles per year, and in 2013 had almost $8 billion in revenue. Fortune spread among several family members.
THE ORACLE: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire’s shares have nearly doubled in price since the sale. Van Tuyl became chairman of what’s now Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, but stepped down from the position after a five-year term. He’s reported to be looking to buy dealerships on his own again, in Texas and California. His primary residence is said to be in Arizona.
WEEKEND WEALTHY: Has a formidable real estate presence in OC. In 2018, paid a reported $55 million for a Corona del Mar compound along the water. Sale included two technically separate, although adjoining, properties. Property, including the iconic “Big Blue House,” was bought from the Irvine family heirs.
THE YACHT: Owns a mega yacht, called Vanish, that’s been valued at about $125 million. The ship was launched in 2016 by Feadship, and counts two helipads, an outdoor cinema, a gym, sauna, massage room, beach club, and includes “a free-standing staircase flanked by a glass wall over three decks,” the Dutch luxury boat maker’s website says.
