John Edward Anderson (September 12, 1917 – July 29, 2011) was an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman who was the president and owner of Topa Equities, Ltd. Anderson oversaw more than 40 wholly owned subsidiaries in agriculture, automotive dealerships, insurance, real estate, oil, and wholesale beverage distribution. In 2006, he was ranked #189 on the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.9 billion. He made charitable donations to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatrics, children's hospital in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles, East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue ...

, and other Southern California educational institutions during his lifetime. Anderson died from pneumonia at the

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as UCLA Medical Center, RRMC or Ronald Reagan) is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United S ...

Early life and education

Anderson was born on September 12, 1917, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. He was the son of a barber. Anderson was the valedictorian of his high school class. Anderson also earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

in 1931. He attended the

from 1936 to 1940, playing on the ice hockey team, and graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

with a

bachelor's degree in business administration A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (de ...

. While at UCLA, he was a member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

fraternity. He then attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

on a scholarship, graduating with an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

after World War II had broken out. While at Harvard, he was a

George Fisher Baker George Fisher Baker (March 27, 1840 – May 2, 1931) was an American financier and philanthropist. Known as the "Dean of American Banking", he was also known for his taciturnity. Baker made a fortune after the American Civil War, Civil War in rai ...

Scholar. Anderson entered the military on the staff of an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

, and passed his CPA exam while in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

. Anderson continued his education after the war, earning his J.D. from

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

in 1950. He graduated first in his class at Loyola, and was offered a full-time teaching position. For the next 25 years, Anderson taught at the law school in mornings and evenings while he worked at his law firm.

Career

Anderson was the founding partner of Kindel & Anderson law firm in 1953. On April 1, 1956, Anderson founded Ace Beverage Co. with exclusive rights to distribute

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

in Los Angeles, California. In 1980, he founded Topa Properties, Ltd., which owns high-rise office buildings in Los Angeles, Ventura County, California, and Honolulu, as well as a sizeable amount of property in the

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a Territories of the United States, territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Isl ...

. His

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

included of commercial property and 4,500 residential units. He created the Silver Star new car dealership group in Thousand Oaks, California, including Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Jaguar and Range Rover. He was a chairman of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

of Metropolitan Los Angeles, a trustee and former president of Saint John's Hospital and Health Center Foundation and trustee of

Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...

. Anderson was on the Board of Visitors at the Anderson School of Management, which is named after him. Anderson also taught several business courses at UCLA. Anderson received the Southern California Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1987 and the Master Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. He was honored as the Business Person of the year by the

U.S. Business Hall of Fame The Global Business Hall of Fame, powered by JA Worldwide, was established by Junior Achievement in 1975 as the U.S. Business Hall of Fame, the result of an idea by Willard F. Rockwell, Jr. (former chairman and CEO of Rockwell International) and ...

in 2002.

Philanthropy

Among his charitable endeavors, Anderson and his wife Marion donated more than $50 million for the construction of a new building for

, where Marion Anderson was a board member. Beginning in 1987, the Andersons donated $42 million to the

. Anderson received the Distinguished Service Award, Loyola Law School in 1985. Two years later, in 1987, the UCLA Graduate School of Management was renamed the

John E. Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (branded as UCLA Anderson) is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school offers MBA (full-time, part-time, executive), Post Graduate Program for Executi ...

after he donated $15 million He received the Outstanding Individual Philanthropist on National Philanthropy Day award in 1989 He also received the UCLA Alumnus of the Year award and the UCLA Medal in 1995. In 2002, he received the John E. Anderson Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UCLA John E. Anderson School of Management He received the Humanitarian Award from the

National Conference for Community and Justice The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

in 2004.

Personal life

In 1942, Anderson married his UCLA sweetheart, Margaret Stewart, and they had five children. Margaret died of cancer in 1965, and he married Marion in 1967. His daughter Debbie died at the age of seventeen in a car accident in 1969. Anderson's son John Jr. is an executive vice president of Topa Equities, Ltd., his daughter Judith manages the agricultural ranch in

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His sons also manage the family's beverage distribution and automotive businesses. He resided in the East Gate Bel Air section of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Death and legacy

Anderson died on July 29, 2011. He had 15 grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. His widow Marion ran the Marion & John E. Anderson Foundation charity. On May 14, 2015, she donated $100 million to the UCLA Anderson School.Larry Gordon
UCLA's Anderson school to get $100-million gift from namesake's widow
''The Los Angeles Times'', May 13, 2015 She died on May 14, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John Edward 1917 births 2011 deaths Businesspeople from Minneapolis People from Bel Air, Los Angeles UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Harvard Business School alumni Loyola Law School alumni Businesspeople from California Philanthropists from California American billionaires Deaths from pneumonia in California Presidents of the American Psychological Association 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists