Richard Stephen Ziman (born November 5, 1942) is a prominent real estate investor, philanthropist, and Democratic party donor in Southern California.
[4] In 1991, he co-founded with Victor Coleman and Andrew Sobel the Arden Pacific Management Group - named after the street he grew up on in Beverly Hills.
[2] Arden began purchasing, at deep discounts, foreclosed commercial buildings from banks eager to exit from the burdens of property management.
[2] The firm focused on properties in good locations in Southern California with small tenants (who did not have a lot of negotiating leverage and would not have a significant impact to Arden's cash flows if they moved) and who had owners willing to provide direct financing of up to 90% of the purchase price.
[2] In October 1996, Arden Realty, Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange in a $496 million IPO organized by Lehman Brothers.