John Edward Anderson (September 12, 1917 – July 29, 2011)[1] was an American billionaire businessman who was the president and owner of Topa Equities, Ltd. Anderson oversaw more than 40 wholly owned subsidiaries in agriculture, automotive dealerships, insurance, real estate, oil, and wholesale beverage distribution.
In 2006, he was ranked #189 on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.9 billion.
[5][6] He attended the University of California, Los Angeles from 1936 to 1940, playing on the ice hockey team,[7] and graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
[9] He then attended Harvard Business School on a scholarship, graduating with an M.B.A. after World War II had broken out.
[10] Anderson entered the military on the staff of an admiral, and passed his CPA exam while in the Navy.
[9][11] On April 1, 1956, Anderson founded Ace Beverage Co. with exclusive rights to distribute Budweiser in Los Angeles, California.
[2] He created the Silver Star new car dealership group in Thousand Oaks, California, including Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Jaguar and Range Rover.
[4] Anderson's son John, Jr. is an executive vice president of Topa Equities, Ltd., his daughter Judith manages the agricultural ranch in Ojai, California.