Bradley Wayne Hughes (September 28, 1933 – August 18, 2021) was an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Public Storage,[1] the largest self-storage company in the U.S. doing business as a real estate investment trust (REIT).
[4][5] His family relocated to Los Angeles during the Dust Bowl, before making their home in El Monte, California.
Initially operating out of a single location in El Cajon, California, it soon expanded to other sites around the country.
[8] He was also chairman and CEO from 1990 to March 1998 of Public Storage Properties XI, Inc, which was renamed PS Business Parks, Inc (PSB), an affiliated REIT.
[11][12][13][14] After a $5 million donation to his alma mater, the Galen Center's basketball court was named after high school classmate and longtime friend Jim Sterkel.
Simpson, Al Cowlings, Sam Cunningham, and Lynn Swann, the latter of whom Hughes was credited with engineering his position as athletic director.
[19] Hughes was the largest donor to American Crossroads, a conservative political organization started by Karl Rove.