Ernest S. Rady

Ernest Rady was born in 1937 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His mother was a substitute teacher before she married Max Rady. "My father left Russia with his family to escape Jewish persecution. He lived with a sister in Canada and worked his way through medical school to become an obstetrician and gynecologist. I had two older sisters, plus my parents had a stillborn child. My father was in his mid-40s when I was born."

Rady greatly admired his father's work ethic. "He worked hard and loved what he did," says Rady. "He was loving and kind and a successful doctor. At one point in my youth, I thought I might like to be a doctor. My father arranged for me to come to the hospital and watch an appendectomy, but at the first sight of blood, they had to carry me out of the room. That ended any dreams I may have had to be a doctor."

Rady's mother was also caring and loving. "I was 10 when the state of Israel was formed, and she was devoted to that cause. She was also active with charities in Winnipeg. I learned from both my parents that you can't just take from your community; you have to give back."

Thinking young Rady was coddled by his mother and two older sisters, his father decided he needed to be toughened up a bit. When Rady was about to start the second grade, he was sent to St. John's College, a private boarding school, where he stayed until the sixth grade. "I was lonely and never liked being there," says Rady. "I could hardly wait to get away from it during breaks. There was a lot of discipline; I guess it did toughen me, but it was not an experience I would recommend to anyone."

When Rady was 15, his father's health began to fail following a stroke and multiple heart attacks. Then dementia set in, leaving him unable to work. It became Rady's responsibility to manage the family's finances from the age of 15 to 29. His father had savings, and Rady made investments. Three friends of his father's, who were business owners, advised him and served as his mentors. He also got a job in a fish factory and later spent a summer working in a lumber yard.

"My father's diminishing mental abilities were very difficult to watch," says Rady. "I eventually had to hire someone to be with him at all times. He died when I was 24. My mother was devoted to him. After his death, she mentioned that someone told her my father had dementia. She asked me if I thought there had been anything wrong with him. She loved him so much she never saw how greatly he had deteriorated. It was the biggest lie of my life to tell her that there was nothing the matter with Father."

Rady attended his father's alma mater, the University of Manitoba, and continued to live at home during his college years. He enjoyed his major in commerce and spent a great deal of time reading about and learning how to make investments. He quickly multiplied his father's savings. Upon graduation, and receiving the University Gold Medal in Commerce given to the top student in that major, he enrolled in the university's law school. "I didn't like law school," says Rady. "I knew after the first year I didn't want to practice law, but my mother thought it was important that I get my degree, and I did that for her."

Rady married while in law school, but his wife suffered from asthma exacerbated by allergies to Manitoba's wheat fields. The couple couldn't leave the area while Rady's father was alive, but following his death and Rady's completion of law school, where he earned the Law Society Award for Academic Achievement in Law, they decided to move. "We ended up in San Diego," he says. "We went from one of the worst climates in North America to one of the best."

In 1962, at the age of 25, Rady became half owner of a construction equipment rental company. That same year, he bought control of Western Homes, which in 1967 he merged with a small oil and gas company, Summit Resources, which eventually went public. In 1968, he bought a majority interest in Dixieline Lumber and later sold his interest in 1975 to Weyerhaeuser. In 1971, he started Western Thrift and Loan, which later became Westcorp. He took Westcorp public and later merged that company with Wachovia Bank in 2006.

Rady founded his primary business, American Assets, Inc., in 1967. It began with a half unit apartment complex in San Diego County, which he purchased for $35,000. In those early days, he ran the business from the trunk of his car. The real estate company grew substantially and was taken public in 2011, renamed as American Assets Trust. Rady serves as chairman, president, and CEO of this company, which has a market value in excess of $2 billion. His remaining private company, AAI, where he serves as president, is now in the business of investments.

In 1971, Rady founded Insurance Company of the West (ICW), and he currently serves as a director and chairman. ICW underwrites select commercial insurance risks in California and Workers Compensation. Rady expanded the business so that it is part of the privately held ICW Group, whose insurance carriers provide workers' compensation, surety, earthquake, and personal and business automobile insurance across multiple states.

Looking back over his many business ventures, Rady says he is most proud of the ethical way in which his dealings were conducted. "It proved to be the smartest strategy because the trust we engender with clients actually produces profits," he says. "I'm very grateful for the career I've had. I've always loved what I do. When you have that, then work is a joy. Even today, at the age of 80, I can hardly wait to get to the office."

A long-time philanthropist, Rady's giving primarily focuses on education, the health and well-being of children, and scientific research. Since 1980, he has been a supporter of Rady Children's Hospital, where he has served as chairman, trustee, director, and treasurer. He and his wife, Evelyn, along with AAI, have donated $60 million to what was previously called the San Diego Children's Hospital and Health Center of San Diego. Through the Rady Family Foundation, he has given substantial gifts to the University of Manitoba as well as $120 million to create the Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine. In 2004, he made a financial gift to establish the University of California at San Diego Rady School of Management, which has since resulted in students and alumni creating 82 operational companies.

"I'm proud of the things I've done in the community," says Rady. "I love Canada, but the United States has been very good to me. In my philanthropy, I have tried to invest in things I think will produce the most benefits for the most people."

When giving advice to youth, Rady says, "This country is all about freedom. You have the freedom to make advantageous choices, but you also have the freedom to make choices that are damaging. It's the equality of opportunity that makes this country great. I also think it's important to treat everyone with dignity. Those who are not humble isolate themselves."

Rady is appreciative of the education he received, and he believes higher education is even more important in today's competitive job market. "A building can't stand without a strong foundation, and education is the foundation upon which you build a career," he says. "Young people should get as much education as they can and then become conscientious workers. Along the way, they should treat others the way they themselves want to be treated, and they should be honest and trustworthy in their dealings with others. These are the building blocks of becoming successful. It isn't a complicated formula, but it's one that is sound."