Following their divorce in 1948, Bren's father remarried Academy Award-winning actress Claire Trevor in the same year.
OC Weekly wrote in 2005 that Bren "wields more power than Howard Hughes ever did, probably as much as any man in America over a concentrated region—determining not only how people live and shop but who governs them.
"[17] In a 2011 interview, Bren summarized his real estate investment strategy: "What I learned was that when you hold property over the long term, you're able to create better values and you have something tangible to show for it.
[19] It is believed that the Irvine Company owns more than 120 million ft² of real estate – the majority of which is in Southern California.
The company's holdings include several hotels, marinas, golf courses, 550 office buildings, 125 apartment complexes and more than 40 shopping centers.
"[24][25] Bren has donated over $200 million to support programs in K-12 public schools and higher education institutions in Southern California.
The University of California recognised that Bren "has contributed more to support endowed chairs than any other single donor in UC's history.
"[27] UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang said, "Bren's vision for developing a peerless, world-leading institution offering an interdisciplinary program of environmental science, management, and policy has been a tremendous source of inspiration and leadership for the Bren School.
"[27] In August 2007, Bren pledged $20 million to the recently established UC Irvine School of Law.
[37] That year, he was recognized for donating more than 20,000 acres of pristine wilderness to Orange County, asking only that it remain open space forever.
[41] Gale Norton, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, speaking about Bren's history of land donations, said, "The Irvine Ranch illustrates what cooperative conservation is all about.
"[42] In 2007, Bren made a $2.5 million commitment to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California.
The contribution established The Donald Bren Presidential Chair and the money donated was used to support research conducted by the Institute such as cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and childhood diseases among others.
"[45] In 2006 the Los Angeles Times named Bren as both the most powerful and wealthiest person in Southern California,[17] and the Orange County Business Journal named him "Businessperson of the Year" based on the company's office expansion, new building construction, and Bren being recognized for his conservation efforts by the federal government.
[50] During the award ceremony, former UC President, Robert Dynes said, "[Bren's] passionate philanthropy and commitment to educational excellence have helped strengthen the university.
"[51] In 1998, Bren received the Marine Corps University Foundation's Semper Fidelis Award, which recognises a distinguished American leader whose commitment to personal and professional excellence embodies those qualities of leadership and character uniquely associated with the United States Marine Corps.
The Foundation also presented Bren with its most prestigious award in 2003, the General Leonard F. Chapman Medallion named in honor of the 24th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
He was elected a Fellow with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2007 in the category of Business, Corporate and Philanthropic Leadership.
[55] His second son, Steve Bren, born 1960, was a former professional auto racing driver and real estate developer.
The Los Angeles Times that year canceled a pending article discussing how the fictional Caleb Nichol of the popular television show The O.C.
"[59] Since the availability of FEC records in 1980, Donald Bren, has contributed tens of thousands of dollars each year to GOP causes.