George L. Graziadio Jr. (1919–2002) was an American commercial real estate developer, banker and philanthropist. With George Eltinge, he developed 100 shopping centers for

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in California and elsewhere in the 1950s. In 1963, they co-founded Imperial Bancorp, which was later acquired by Comerica and renamed Comerica Bank-California. The

Graziadio School of Business and Management The Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (Graziadio School) is the graduate business school of Pepperdine University, a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. ...

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

bears his name.

Early life

George L. Graziadio Jr. was born in 1919 in

Vernon, Connecticut Vernon is the most populous town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 30,215 at the 2020 census. Vernon contains the smaller villages of Talcottville and Dobsonville. Vernon contains the former City of Rockville. ...

. His father was a realtor, insurance businessman and auctioneer. His paternal grandparents were Italian while his maternal grandparents were Irish. Graziadio graduated from high school in 1937. He dropped out of college in 1939. He took a

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

from Connecticut to

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

with a friend in 1939, and decided to stay there.

Business career

Graziadio started a commercial real estate development company with George Eltinge in the 1950s. The two men built a hundred shopping centers in California and elsewhere, most of which housed

stores. Graziadio and Eltinge co-founded the Imperial Bank-California in 1963. The two men cobbled US$1.25 million together from their social circles to start the bank after they failed to have access to loans from banks for their real estate development projects. It was later known as Imperial Bancorp. It had "$7.4 billion in assets and 15 branches," and mostly made loans to technology and entertainment companies in the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

. For example, they made loans to

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and feature films. Graziadio served as its Chairman until it was acquired by Comerica, a bank based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan, for US$1.3 billion.

Philanthropy

Graziadio donated US$15 million to

in 1996. As a result, the

Pepperdine Graziadio Business School The Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (Graziadio School) is the graduate business school of Pepperdine University, a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Th ...

bears his name. Additionally, he donated US$650,000 to endow the George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. With his wife, Graziadio endowed the George and Reva Graziadio Radiology Center at the

Torrance Memorial Medical Center Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a private hospital located in Torrance, California. Torrance Memorial was the first hospital in the Los Angeles South Bay region and is currently one of the three burn centers in Los Angeles County. History ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

. They also donated to the "Mountain Communities Hospital in Lake Arrowhead, the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation,

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, the Hugh O'Brian Youth Foundation and the

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." Additionally, they were the 2002 recipients of the Humanitarians of the Year Award from the

House Ear Institute The House Institute Foundation (HIF), formerly the House Ear Institute, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, based in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to advancing hearing science through research, education, and global hearing health to ...

. Graziadio was the 2002 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award from the

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...

Personal life

Graziadio married Reva Mikles, a native of

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. They resided in Rolling Hills, a

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

on the

Palos Verdes Peninsula The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the Sou ...

near

. They had a son, G. Louis Graziadio III, and two daughters, Mary Lou Graziadio and Alida Calvillo.

Death

Graziadio died of cancer on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in June 2002. His funeral was held at the Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graziadio, George L. Jr. 1919 births 2002 deaths People from Vernon, Connecticut People from Rolling Hills, California Businesspeople from California American company founders American chairpersons of corporations American bankers Pepperdine University people Deaths from cancer in California American people of Italian descent American people of Irish descent 20th-century American businesspeople