Age: Peter Ueberroth, 78, Ginny Ueberroth, 76
Job/Role: Entrepreneurs, philanthropists
Bio: Peter Ueberroth graduated with a degree in business from San Jose State in 1959. He founded First Travel Corp. and later turned his attention to sports, organizing the 1984 Summer Olympics Games in Los Angeles and serving as Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1988. He was chairman of Rebuild Los Angeles after the 1992 Los Angeles riots and ran for governor in 2003. He is an investor and chairman of the Contrarian Group, a private equity company in Newport Beach. Ginny Ueberroth, 76, holds a teaching degree from Cal State Northridge. She is founder of Circle 1000, a cancer support group at Hoag Hospital and since 1988 has served as a director at First American Title Corp. They live in Laguna Beach.
Why they’re influencers: The Ueberroths gave $5 million this year to Dr. Allyson Brooks, director of Hoag’s Women’s Health Institute. The endowment helps with research and education related to women’s health issues. The money will help recruit new physicians, increase patient navigation resources and pilot innovative women’s health projects. The endowment is the first of its kind in Orange County to benefit women’s health.
Thoughts on entrepreneurship: “Choose a charity you care about and work toward what you see as a need,” says Ginny Ueberroth. From her husband: “I’ve proven that women executives are always a plus. My first company – a travel company in the 1970s and 1980s – grew to 100 offices across the county, 95 were managed by women.”
Inspiration: John Wooden. “I knew him and respected every way that he went about his business and stuck to his principles,” says Peter Ueberoth.
Can’t do without: “I think friends help make a huge difference in your life,” says Ginny Ueberoth. “I have one that’s been my best friend for 60 years.”
To view the original article from The Orange County Register, please click here.
