Hillary Clinton, Aliza Guren and Tom Gilmore
The Los Angeles real estate community is stumping for Hillary Clinton.
The former Secretary of State is far and away the most popular presidential candidate among L.A. biggest political real estate donors, according to a review of campaign donations by The Real Deal.
On the other hand, only a relative handful of the real estate community has opened its wallets for billionaire developer-turned-politician Donald Trump and his Republican opponents, John Kasich and Ted Cruz.
Some of Clinton’s most high-profile Los Angeles donors include Beny Alagem, the Israeli American entrepreneur who owns the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills; William Witte, the chairman and CEO of Related California; Karney Management CEO Aliza Guren; creative office space developer Robert Herscu; Downtown L.A. developer Tom Gilmore; and Jeff Hyland, co-founder of luxe brokerage Hilton & Hyland, campaign records show.
Most gave $2,700, the maximum donation amount permitted by law.
Other contributors include JLL senior vice president Christina Noonan, interior design guru Tim Corrigan, JRK Property Holdings CEO Jim Lippman, JRK Property Holdings COO Jon Monkarsh, Somerset Group principal Gabriel Eshaghian and Coldwell Banker broker Steven Frankel, an agent to the stars who’s represented the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Justin Long.
As the nominating contest hurtles toward the state’s June 7 primary, it seems that GOP donors are simply looking on from the sidelines.
Trump has scored only a handful of big name real estate donors, including Greg Beck, a partner at L.A.-based Champion Real Estate. The developer recently sold a 1.75-acre parcel of land in Hollywood for $39.9 million, or $524 per square foot, TRD previously reported.
Cruz’s fans include Carla Sands, the wife of late real estate mogul Fred Sands and chairman of Vintage Capital Group. He also received donations from Robert Zarnegin, CEO of Probity International and owner of the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel; Brian Taban of Jade Enterprises; Broadway theater owner Michael Delijani; investor Kambiz Babaof; and Point Dume Shopping Center owner Zan Marquis.
Kasich scored few donations from real estate interests and seemingly from no big name developers.
And, beyond a few donations from real estate brokers at Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s, democratic candidate Bernie Sanders also received few donations from the L.A. real estate community, records show.