David Nazarian

David Nazarian is an Iranian-born American businessman, investor and philanthropist.

David Nazarian was born circa 1962 in Iran. His father, Younes Nazarian, is a businessman and philanthropist. His mother, Soraya Nazarian, is a philanthropist. His paternal uncle, Izak Parviz Nazarian, is also a businessman and philanthropist. Nazarian immigrated to the United States with his parents during the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

He graduated from California State University, Northridge, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1982. He received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Nazarian is the founder of Nîmes Capital, an investment firm. He serves as its Chief Executive Officer. He acquired real estate from the Resolution Trust Corporation 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 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 and Taco Bell restaurants in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, from Brentwood Associates.

He serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 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. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Graduate School Leadership Institute.

With his wife, he has endowed the David and Angella Nazarian Youth Program at Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Westwood, for children from the 9th to the 12th grade. In 2014, they were also honored for their Jewish and pro-Israel philanthropy by Hillel 818, the chapter of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life for students at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Pierce College 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.

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.

He is married to Angella Maddahi, a non-fiction author. They have two sons.