David Nazarian is an

Iranian American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busin ...

businessman, investor and philanthropist.

Early life

David Nazarian was born circa 1961 in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

.Dana Bartholomew
David Nazarian, 1982 CSUN graduate, gives university $10 million, aims to raise $15 million more
''Los Angeles Daily News'', March 27, 2014Q&A: David Nazarian on Giving Back to His Alma Mater
''

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

'', April 3, 2014 His father,

Younes Nazarian Younes Nazarian (January 26, 1931 March 18, 2022) was a Jewish Iranian-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. An early investor in Qualcomm, he was the Chairman of Nazarian Enterprises. He was also a major donor to charitable caus ...

, was a businessman and philanthropist. His mother, Soraya Nazarian, is a philanthropist. His paternal uncle,

Izak Parviz Nazarian Izak Parviz Nazarian ( ''Is'ḥaq Parvêz Nazariyân''; February 24, 1929 – August 23, 2017) was an Iranian-born American billionaire, businessman, investor, real-estate developer, and philanthropist. He was the managing partner of Omninet Capi ...

, was also a businessman and philanthropist. Nazarian immigrated to the United States with his parents during the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

of 1979. He graduated from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1982.David Nazarian
''

Bloomberg Business ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''Nazarian Gift
CSUN, April 9, 2014 He received a Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business.

Career

Nazarian is the founder of Nîmes Capital, an investment firm,CSUN Announces Naming of the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics
''CSUN Today'', March 26, 2014 and serves as its chief executive officer. Nazarian and his family became early major shareholders of

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

when one of their investments joined forces with the communication company in 1988. He acquired real estate from the

Resolution Trust Corporation The Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) was a U.S. government-owned asset management company run by Lewis William Seidman and charged with liquidating assets, primarily real estate-related assets such as mortgage loans, that had been assets ...

in the first half of the 1990s. Additionally, he acquired hotels in the early 2000s and sold them for profit in 2008. He has also created venture funds that invested in wireless and broadband technology as well as clean energy. In 2012, Nîmes Capital acquired TD Food Group, a fast food company which owns and operates

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

and

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

restaurants in Hawaii,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, from

Brentwood Associates Brentwood Associates is a private equity firm in the US with groups focusing on leveraged buyout. The firm, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded in 1972. Their most recent fund was a $1.15bn fund raised in 2017. The venture capital group ...

.Stephanie Silverstein
Owner of Taco Bells, Pizza Huts sells to Nimes Capital
''Pacific Business News'', December 28, 2012 Nimes sold the company to Restaurant Brands New Zealand in 2017 for a reported $105 million. In 2018, Nazarian acquired a portfolio of mid-sized operating companies and real estate holdings focused on multi-family, student housing and hotel assets. Nimes Real Estate, a subsidiary of his Nazarian Enterprises, in 2021 had $1 billion in acquisitions.

Philanthropy

He serves on the board of governors of

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

. He serves as the chair of the investment committee and a member of the board of directors of the UCLA Foundation. He also serves on the board of leaders of the USC Marshall School of Business and the Harvard Graduate School Leadership Institute. With his wife, he endowed the David and Angella Nazarian Youth Leadership Program at Sinai Temple, a conservative synagogue in Westwood, for children from the 9th to the 12th grade.Nurit Greenger
Hillel 818 Honors David & Angella Nazarian
''The Times of Israel'', September 24, 2014 In 2014, they were also honored for their Jewish and pro-Israel philanthropy b
Hillel 818
the chapter of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life for students at

(CSUN),

Pierce College Pierce College may refer to: * Pierce College (Washington) * Los Angeles Pierce College ** Pierce College station See also * Peirce College * Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshi ...

and the Los Angeles Valley College. Additionally, they endowed the Angella and David Nazarian Social Innovators in Residence program at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

. In 2014, he made a charitable contribution of $10 million to his alma mater, CSUN. He also chairs a campaign to fundraise an additional $15 million. As a result, the CSUN David Nazarian College of Business and Economics was named in his honor.

Personal life

He is married to Angella Maddahi, a former academic, non-fiction author, conference organizer and philanthropist.Gabriel Kahn
Something to Talk About: How Angella Nazarian’s First “Women A.R.E.” Conference Came to Be
''

'', November 5, 2013 They have two sons.

Awards

Nazarian and his wife Angella were recipients of the 2018

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...

, which are awarded to “American citizens whom exemplify a life dedicated to community service. These are individuals who preserve and celebrate the history, traditions and values of their ancestry while exemplifying the values of the American way of life, and who are dedicated to creating a better world for us all.”

References

External links

Nimes CapitalCSUN David Nazarian College of Business and EconomicsVideo presentation about the CSUN David Nazarian College of Business and EconomicsThe David and Angella Nazarian Leadership Program at Sinai Temple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazarian, David Living people American billionaires American chief executives American company founders American construction businesspeople American investors American manufacturing businesspeople American people of Iranian-Jewish descent American transportation businesspeople American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Los Angeles California State University, Northridge alumni Conservative Jews Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian Jews Jewish American philanthropists Marshall School of Business alumni

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

People from Tehran People from Beverly Hills, California Philanthropists from California Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)