fbpx

Fred Sands, real estate leader and philanthropist, dies at 77

Los Angeles real estate leader and philanthropist Fred Sands died on Oct. 23. He was serving as chairman of Vintage Real Estate, a company that purchased shopping malls in distress, at the time of his death, at 77. He sold his namesake company, Fred Sands Realtors, to Coldwell Banker, in 2000.
[additional-authors]
October 27, 2015

Los Angeles real estate mogul and philanthropist Fred Sands — whose name became ubiquitous with for-sale signs across California — died Oct. 23 of a sudden stroke while in Boston, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was 77.

At the time of his death, Sands was serving as chairman of Vintage Real Estate, a company that purchased shopping malls in distress and worked to turn them around. 

Sands was born in New York City and raised in Boyle Heights, where he attended Roosevelt High School. The son of a cab driver, he studied real estate and business administration at UCLA. 

In his 20s, he became interested in buying distressed houses and selling them, and he joined the staff of Coldwell Banker. He found success there before leaving the company and working on his own, forming Fred Sands Realtors. That business — which he sold to Coldwell Banker in 2000 — grew to become the largest independent residential real estate brokerage in California, according to the Times. 

The Journal interviewed him this past July after he endowed the Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate at the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Although he didn’t graduate college, Sands said he believed in the power of education.

After selling his business, he developed an interest in buying and selling shopping malls, despite widespread opinion that shopping malls are no longer as popular as they once were, he said. He told the Journal that the shopping mall is like the “town square” and can revitalize a neighborhood.  

A prolific philanthropist, Sands told the Journal that giving is “in my DNA.” In 2012, he donated $500,000 to the Reform synagogue Wilshire Boulevard Temple, where he was a member and major contributor, as part of the synagogue’s capital campaign to renovate its Koreatown campus. Sands, an avid art collector, was also a supporter and co-founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

He said he was a proud Jew who found ways of mixing elements of Judaism with Buddhism. Always a strong supporter of Israel, he became teary-eyed when speaking of the Holocaust in his summer interview with the Journal, during which he described his passion for philanthropy, good friends and rock ’n’roll. 

Sands is survived by his wife, Carla; son Jonathan; daughter Alexandra; and brother William.

A funeral service took place Oct. 30 at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Erika J. Glazer Family Campus in Koreatown. The family has requested that donations in Sands' memory be made to MOCA or to Pepperdine's Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Chicken With a Lemony Twist

The huge plus is that a super, simple sheet pan recipe results in a dish that looks so impressive and sophisticated.

Troubled Marriage

As Netanyahu visits Trump, Israelis look to Washington with wearier eyes. What does the future hold for the relationship?

Tu b’Av and Redemption

On Tu b’Av, the full moon rises. The same people who mourned begin to dance. The same nation who splintered begins to seek one another out again in the vineyards, in the fields, in the moments of vulnerability and return.

Mission to the Jewish Community of Ethiopia

I didn’t even know that there were still Jews left in Ethiopia, but what I encountered there firsthand was a thriving Jewish community, with some very significant struggles.

The Myth of the Marxist Mishpacha

The Jewish immigrant who organized for a 40-hour work week did not do so to give his grandchildren a politics that asks them to feel guilty for their education, their professional success or their attachment to a Jewish state.

Framing the Faith of Maimonides

In this enriching new edition of the classic code of Jewish law, readers can delve deeply into the mind of Maimonides, from his analysis of the commandments to the controversies that have accompanied his writings, offering a window into the wisdom of one of our tradition’s preeminent thinkers.

Finding Communal Comfort

In the book of Isaiah, God calls the prophet to comfort the Jewish people. But we know this is really something we must do for one another.

Leaving Behind a Better World

The America my generation seems to be leaving our kids and grandkids is not safer nor saner, and it breaks my heart.

Was Our Golden Age Fool’s Gold?

We didn’t think that we were living in a “Golden Age,” because it did not occur to us that what we were experiencing was only a temporary respite from centuries of animosity and intolerance.

Genocide Shmenocide

Since Israel evacuated Gaza in 2005, the Palestinian population has grown from 1.3 million to 2.1 million. In the West Bank, it has grown from 2.4 million to 3.4 million. If the Israelis were hellbent on committing genocide, it’s one of the most epic failures in military history.

What Will It Take?

An open revolt for Jewish rights and protections is going to have to come from Jews finally making demands and fighting back—or not at all.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.