Quick Facts
Biography
John Arrillaga (born 1936) is an American real estate mogul and philanthropist. He is one of the largest landowners in Silicon Valley.
Biography
Early life
John Arrillaga Sr is one of five children born into a lower-middle-class home with father, Gabriel, who traced his roots to the Basque region and mother, Freida. He attended Morningside High School in Inglewood, California and graduated in 1955. He attended Stanford University on a basketball scholarship, and was a first-team All-AAWU selection in 1960. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in geography (no longer offered) in 1960, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta.
Career
In the 1960s, Arrillaga and business partner Richard Peery bought California farmland and converted it into office space. They became two of Silicon Valley's biggest commercial landlords with more than 12,000,000 square feet (1,100,000 m2).
In 2006, he sold 5,300,000 sq ft (490,000 m2) of his real estate holdings for roughly $1.1 billion.
Philanthropy
He is well known for his generous support of Stanford University. The alumni center, the Frances C. Arrillaga Building, is named in memory of his first wife, and various other athletic facilities carry his surname. In May 2006, Arrillaga gave $100 million to Stanford.
In June 2013, he again donated to Stanford, writing a check for $151 million, making it the largest individual donation in the school's history.
Personal life
Arrillaga is widowed, and is remarried to Gioia Fasi Arrillaga. The couple resides in Portola Valley, California. His daughter Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is married to Marc Andreessen, the successful entrepreneur who co-authored the Mosaic and Netscape web browsers, and who is co-founder of several web technology enterprises. His son John Arrillaga, Jr. is married to Justine Stamen Arrillaga, founder of the TEAK Fellowship.