County’s Largest Private Companies : Real Estate, Restaurant Firms Rank High on List

Private companies can be hard to figure financially, but there’s no doubt that some are major players in the county’s business landscape.

Ten of the 100 largest private companies in California are based in Orange County, according to California Business magazine, citing a survey by Dun & Bradstreet Corp. The companies are ranked by sales in the 1987 fiscal year.

You would expect the real estate industry to be well represented in the list, and it is, with developers William Lyon Co., the Irvine Co. and the Koll Co. all ranked among the 50

largest companies in the state. A real estate broker, Bettga Inc., also cracked the top 100.

Restaurant companies also are prominent, with Restaurant Enterprises Group Inc. ranked fifth statewide and American Restaurant Group ranked 38th. The two companies employ a total of 70,000, according to the survey.

The county’s private sales champion is Pacific Financial Cos., a financial-services company. With $2.2 billion in sales, it ranks third in the state behind Bechtel Group Inc. ($4.5 billion) and Levi Strauss & Co. ($2.9 billion).

Pacific Financial Cos. 1987 Rank: 3 1986 Rank: 4 Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $2,128 Headquarters: Newport Beach Founded: 1936 Type of Business: Insurance/Pensions Employees: 32,000 CEO: Harry G. Bubb Restaurant Enterprises Group Inc. 1987 Rank: 5 1986 Rank: -- Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $1,200 Headquarters: Irvine Founded: 1986 Type of Business: Restaurant Operator Employees: 52,000 CEO: Norman N. Habermann William Lyon Co. 1987 Rank: 15 1986 Rank: 37 Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $692 Headquarters: Newport Beach Founded: 1972 Type of Business: Builder Employees: 850 CEO: William Lyon Irvine Co. 1987 Rank: 24 1986 Rank: 67 Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $577 Headquarters: Newport Beach Founded: 1977 Type of Business: Real Estate Developer Employees: 1,200 CEO: Thomas N. Nielsen American Restaurant Group 1987 Rank: 38 1986 Rank: -- Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $500 Headquarters: Newport Beach Founded: 1986 Type of Business: Restaurants Employees: 18,000 CEO: Ralph S. Roberts Koll Co. 1987 Rank: 48 1986 Rank: 38 Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $400 Headquarters: Newport Beach Founded: 1961 Type of Business: Builder Employees: 750 CEO: Donald M. Koll Chilay Corp. 1987 Rank: 50 1986 Rank: -- Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $400 Headquarters: Anaheim Founded: 1981 Type of Business: Food Broker & Manufacturer Employees: 75 CEO: Jerry Murdock Freedom Newpapers Inc. 1987 Rank: 70 1986 Rank: 52 Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $300 Headquarters: Irvine Founded: 1927 Type of Business: Publishing Employees: 3,000 CEO: D. Robert Segal Sequoia Supply Inc. 1987 Rank: 74 1986 Rank: -- Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $300 Headquarters: Irvine Founded: 1987 Type of Business: Building Material Supplier Employees: 750 CEO: Paul W. Hylbert Bettga Inc. 1987 Rank: 91 1986 Rank: -- Fiscal 1987 Sales (millions): $248 Headquarters: Irvine Founded: 1981 Type of Business: Real Estate Broker Employees: 79 CEO: Glen A. Hellwarth