Bruce E Karatz was born on October 10,1945 and is an American businessman and philanthropist.
23 Facts About Bruce Karatz
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In March 2013, Bruce Karatz was a recipient of The Malibu Times' 23rd Annual Dolphin Awards.
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Bruce Karatz operates BK Capital LLC based in Beverly Hills, California.
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Bruce Karatz was born in Chicago, Il and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a middle class Jewish family.
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Bruce Karatz's father owned a movie theater and his mother was a homemaker.
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Bruce Karatz graduated from high school in 1963 and from Boston University in 1967.
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Bruce Karatz received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California in 1970.
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Bruce Karatz made a mark in 1977 when he installed a full-sized model home on the roof of the Au Printemps department store.
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In 1981 Bruce Karatz rejoined the Los Angeles headquarters of KB Home and in 1986 was named CEO.
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Bruce Karatz is credited with changing the company's business model of building homes on speculation and then selling them, in favor of building houses on order.
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Bruce Karatz in turn became one of the country's highest-paid CEOs during this time.
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On November 12,2006, Bruce Karatz retired from KB Home and agreed to pay the Company the profits he received based on KB Home's stock option back-dating procedures.
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In December 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Bruce Karatz directed that KB Home become the first, and at that time only, national homebuilder to go to New Orleans to support rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
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Bruce Karatz had to overcome reservations of KB Homes' Board of Directors.
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Bruce Karatz agreed to make KB Home the builder for an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition after listening to a pitch from employees.
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Rather than remodel the family's home, Bruce Karatz decided to raze it and build a 3,200-square-foot home in 48 hours.
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In 2007, Bruce Karatz founded the Keep Your Home Foundation to support people in California facing foreclosures as a result of the mortgage crisis.
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From May 2010 to August 2011, Bruce Karatz worked as a full-time volunteer with the non-profit, HomeBoy Industries, which provides a second chance to formerly incarcerated gang members by training them to reenter society.
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Today, Bruce Karatz is a member of the Homeboy Industries' Board of Trustees.
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On September 15,2008, Bruce Karatz settled civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission arising out of these stock option back-dating procedures.
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Bruce Karatz extensively shared his expertise and time as well.
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Bruce Karatz has three adult children, Elizabeth, Matthew, and Teddy, and 8 grandchildren.
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Bruce Karatz has oversight of all housing-related City departments from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power asset and real estate management to the City Planning Department.