John Edward Anderson

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John Edward Anderson
Photo courtesy of Topa Equities, Ltd.
Born	September, 1917 Minneapolis, MN, USA
Occupation	Business
Spouse	Margaret (1942-1965) Marion (1967-Present)
Children	John, Jr. Judith William Debbie

John Edward Anderson (b. 1917) is the president and sole shareholder of Topa Equities, Ltd. Anderson currently oversees more than 40 wholly-owned subsidiaries in diverse industries such as agriculture, automotive dealerships, insurance, real estate and wholesale beverage distribution. In 2006, he was ranked #189 in Forbes Magazine 's list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.9 billion ^[1].

1 Youth and schooling
2 Family life
3 Business life
4 Awards
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Youth and schooling

John E. Anderson was born in September, 1917 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of a barber^[2]. Although Anderson's family was not finacially well-off, he still became the valedictorian of his high school class^[3]. Anderson also earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in 1931^[4]^[5]. He attended UCLA from 1936 to 1940, playing on the ice hockey team^[6], and graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in business administration^[7]. While at UCLA, he was a member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi^[8]. He then attended Harvard Business School on scholarship, graduating with a MBA as World War II was under way ^[9]. While at Harvard, he was a George Fisher Baker Scholar ^[10]. Anderson entered the military on the staff of an admiral, never saw combat, and passed his CPA exam while in the Navy^[11]. Anderson continued his education after the war, earning his JD from Loyola Law School in 1950^[12]^[13]. He graduated first in his class at Loyola, and was offered a full-time teaching position^[14]. For the next 25 years, Anderson taught at the law school in mornings and evenings while he worked at his law firm^[15].

[edit] Family life

In 1942, Anderson married his UCLA sweetheart, Margaret, and they had five children^[16]. Margaret died of cancer in 1965, and he married his current wife Marion in 1967^[17]. His daughter Debbie died tragically at the age of seventeen in a car accident 1969^[18]. Anderson's sons John, Jr. and William are executive vice presidents in Topa Equities, Ltd., and his daughter Judith manages the agricultural ranch in Ojai, California^[19]. He currently resides in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California^[20]. Anderson has 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren ^[21]. Although Anderson could afford it, he does not purchase extravagent symbols of wealth like a private jet or yacht, but continues to go to work by 8 a.m. six days a week^[22]. He encourages his children to give to charity, and his wife and daughter Judy run the Marion & John E. Anderson Foundation charity^[23].

[edit] Business life

Anderson was the founding partner of Kindel & Anderson law firm in 1953^[24]^[25]. On April 1, 1956, Anderson founded Ace Beverage Co. with exclusive rights to distribute Budweiser in Los Angeles, California^[26]. In 1980, he founded Topa Properties, Ltd., which owns a sizeable amount of property in the US Virgin Islands ^[27]. His portfolio now includes 4 million square feet of commercial property and 4,500 residential units^[28]. He is a past chairman of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, a trustee and former president of Saint John's Hospital and Health Center Foundation and trustee of Claremont McKenna College^[29]. He is on the board of directors of Mellon 1st Business Bank ^[30]. Anderson is on the Board of Visitors at the Anderson School of Management ^[31]. Anderson has also taught several business courses at UCLA^[32].

[edit] Awards

1985 — Distinguished Service Award, Loyola Law School^[33]
1987 — UCLA Graduate School of Management was renamed the John E. Anderson School of Management after he donated $15 million ^[34]
1987 — Southern California Entrepreneur of the Year^[35]
1988 — Outstanding Individual Philanthropist on National Philanthropy Day^[36]
1995 — UCLA Alumnus of the Year^[37]
1995 — UCLA Medal^[38]
2002 — Master Entrepreneur of the Year^[39]
2002 — John E. Anderson Distinguished Alumnus Award, UCLA John E. Anderson School of Management^[40]
2003 — Business Person of the year, Business Hall of Fame^[41]
2004 — Humanitarian Award, National Conference for Community and Justice^[42]
Unk — Distinguished Eagle Scout Award