In an era when state and federal regulations limited branching, Ahmanson and his top executive, Kenneth D. Childs took advantage of the home construction and real estate boom around Los Angeles to make Home Savings and Loan the largest thrift in the United States.
[3] Involved with the California Republican Party since the mid-1930s, Ahmanson began to take a more active role in 1954 when his long-time friend Goodwin Knight ran for governor.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, Ahmanson began to play a major role in the cultural life of Los Angeles.
He served on the board of the Museum of Science and Industry, helped found the support organization for the Los Angeles County Art Institute (also known as the Otis Art Institute), gave $2 million to help fund the construction of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, provided a major gift to support construction of the Los Angeles Music Center, and provided generous funding to his alma mater, the University of Southern California.
[5] He also influenced the cultural life of Southern California when he hired the artist Millard Sheets in 1953 to begin designing Home Savings' branches.
In 1961, he and his crew aboard the M class yacht Sirius II (formerly Barlovento) won the Transpac race to Honolulu.
On January 14, 1965, he married Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson, a fashion consultant who was a regular on the Art Linkletter show.