L.A. Rainmaker
Billionaire Eli Broad wants nothing less than to remake his adopted city
Broad defines himself as a venture philanthropist, meaning he expects more than a psychic return on his money. His foundation has spent $1.4 billion since 2000 to fund biomedical research, the arts, and especially education. Broad believes in training the good teachers like corporate managers, tossing the weak ones in favor of smart outsiders, and managing the whole enterprise Fortune 500 style from the top down. His foundation runs programs that teach new school-board members how to govern big organizations. Broad even woos unions, trying to get them to embrace pay scales tied to student performance. The L.A. schools, however, have largely resisted his reforms.
Overcoming the status quo is rarely easy, even in small ways. Broad, for instance, dines several times a month at the same Italian restaurant in Santa Monica. Every time he asks the waiter to read the specials, and every time he orders veal Parmesan. "I ask him why he puts the waiter through it, and he says he might hear something new that interests him," says Munitz, a frequent dinner companion. "But you can bet your life savings that he's going to order veal Parmesan."
Born: June 6, 1933
Family: Wife Edythe and two sons
Education: B.A., Michigan State University
Making it: Amassed his first million in his early 20s, his first billion in his mid-60s
Giving back: The Broad Foundation has spent more than $1 billion to fund medical research, education, and the arts.
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