Richard Green, longtime Malibu resident and philanthropist, died on May 7. He was 64.
Green was born in Omaha, Neb. He lived there for eight years until his family moved to Los Angeles. Green attended San Jose State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance.
Upon graduation, Green began work with Price Waterhouse & Co. Then, in what his wife Anita called “an attempt to not be an accountant,” Green took a job with Capital Records working on national sales figures. Anita Green said the job did not work out, but the situation did because that is where the two met, as she worked there in art production.
The Greens were married in 1968 and moved to Malibu in 1972. In 1968, Green took a job with May Centers, where he directed numerous regional shopping center development projects and all leasing activities during his 12 years with the company. In 1980, Green joined the Westfield Group, where he worked as the vice chairman of operations. At the time Green joined the company, it owned two malls in Connecticut. The company now owns 66 regional and super regional shopping centers throughout the nation.
Green worked with several charity and nonprofit groups. He was on the Board of Directors of the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, established with his wife a scholarship at Santa Monica High School and was supportive of Special Olympics Southern California. Green was also active with the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue, leading the fundraising effort to pay for the building of the new synagogue. And he was a mentor to many people.
“We both felt that we were very fortunate,” Anita Green said. “[Charity] was something we both felt we wanted to do. It was easy for us to do, to give back and help wherever we could.” Anita Green said her husband liked almost everything athletic. She said he was a good tennis player, worked hard at golf and also liked skiing, basketball and taking biking trips.
More than 700 people attended a memorial service for Green on Friday.
He is survived by his wife, Anita; daughter Tracy Green and her husband Gerard Darian; son Larry and his wife Tina and grandchildren, Jordan, Ethan and Sarah.