Eli Broad was an American billionaire entrepreneur. Broad was ranked as the 233rd wealthiest person in the world in 2019. Broad’s business career spanned over five decades. He has controlled build Fortune 500 companies, KB Home and SunAmerica.
Later in his life, he and his wife were dedicated to philanthropic causes. They gave away a fortune through The Broad Foundations, which was committed to furthering entrepreneurship in education, science, and the arts. He was recognized for his philanthropic commitment to public K – 12 education, medical and scientific research, and the visual and performing arts. As of 2022, Eli Broad’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $7.2 billion.
Eli Broad was born on the 6th of June, 1933, in the Bronx, New York. Broad was the only child of Lithuanian Jewish immigrant parents who met in New York. His father was a painter, and his mother was a dressmaker. He attended Detroit Public Schools and graduated from Detroit Central High School in 1951.
Some of the jobs Broad held in college consisted of selling women’s shoes, selling garbage disposals door-to-door, and working as a drill press operator at Packard Motor, in which he was a member of the United Auto Workers.
Career
In 1956, Broad and Kaufmann determined to build houses together. He borrowed $12,500 from his wife’s parents, and Broad put up half the capital of their first project together, building model houses in the Northeast Detroit suburbs. They could price the houses so the monthly loan would be much less than the rent for -a bedroom apartment. Kaufman and Broad named this model the “Award Winner” and priced it at $13,700.
In 1961, Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation went public on the American Stock Exchange. Two years later, he moved the corporation to Los Angeles. Soon after, Kauman retired. By 1969, KB Home was the first homebuilder listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Broad obtained Sun Life Insurance Company of America in 1971. In 1998, he sold SunAmerica to the American International Group for $17.8 billion after 3 weeks of secret negotiations. The following year, he continued as CEO of SunAmerica. He then left to focus on philanthropy full-time.
How Did Eli Broad Spend His Money?
Eli Broad spent his money on real estate, charity work, and artwork. Alongside his wife, they owned many luxurious art pieces. Before Broad passed away, he owned a lavish home in Malibu. The couple first placed the property on the market for $75 million in February 2020. The price dropped to $67.5 million in July and then to $62 million in September.
Broad had an impressive collection of artwork. He made a prime purchase in 1973 with his wife, while he and Edye bought a Van Gogh drawing entitled Cabanes a Saintes-Maries, 1888. Art collector and MCA executive Taft Schreiber have become their mentor.