New Money and Old Money Build a California Concert Hall

The financing of the $200-million Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Orange County, Calif., represents a unique confluence of old- and new-economy money, reports the Los Angeles Times.

One of the hall’s namesakes, Henry Segerstrom, made his fortune in real estate, especially shopping malls, and donated both the land and $50-million needed to expand and refurbish the arts center.

But philanthropists with high-technology roots also contributed large sums to the project, including $13.8-million from the founders of the Broadcom Corporation, a microchip company.

Henry Samueli of Broadcom, who has donated $160-million to numerous Los Angeles groups over the past decade, said he hoped the world-class concert hall—it now has seven stages, two more than the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles—would help Orange County shake a reputation as “rich, selfish, [and] plastic.”