Sharing the Fun of Sharing the Wealth

When I attended the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism 22 years ago, several professors warned my class that as newspaper people we would never be rich.

They were right. But over the last two weeks I have gotten a taste of what it would be like to enjoy one of the prerogatives of the rich--handing out fortunes to good causes.

For most of my journalistic career I have known and written about Joan Irvine Smith, the feisty granddaughter of the founder of the Irvine Co. So when the paper got word that she was beginning to decide what she would do with the $252 million she was awarded for her 11% stake in the company, I was asked to give her a call. So I did.

From then on I was caught up in Smith’s enthusiasm as she shared with me her emerging plans for distributing about $30 million to various public and nonprofit agencies and to a foundation she is establishing to make gifts in future years.

Smith, who for years has been weighed down by the cares of legal wrangling over the value of her stock, sounded almost gleeful over the telephone.

“I have never enjoyed myself more,” she said.

The causes she selected might have been anticipated by those who for decades have tracked her interest in the development of UC Irvine and in preserving and enhancing the quality of the county’s water supply.

And anyone who has visited Smith’s thoroughbred ranch in San Juan Capistrano, which is a profusion of colorful plants and leafy oak trees that she carefully nurtures, would not be startled that many of the causes she is choosing to endow are aimed at protecting endangered plants and wildlife.

But before Smith started naming for me more than 20 projects that she had chosen to receive sums of $100,000 to $1 million or more, she hadn’t actually gotten around to letting most of the people in charge of those projects know that the money was coming.

That was to be my job, as I called people ranging from the pastor of the San Juan Capistrano Mission to the founder of the renowned House Ear Institute to an official of the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute, in quest of reactions to the gift proposals.

At times I felt as if I had taken the part of the emissary on the old television series “The Millionaire.” But, hey, I was helping to hand out a lot more than $1 million. Everyone was, not surprisingly, grateful.

They even thanked me for calling--which in itself is a rare experience for a reporter who is usually doling out bad news.

Of course, I had to be careful how I presented the information, since the money won’t be forthcoming until the last legal differences between Smith and the Irvine Co. are settled and Smith has a check in her hands.

Every few days, Smith gave me names of additional causes she had researched and decided would warrant her largess. The last batch she had selected to get $100,000 each included the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

“I’d love to be a mouse in the corner when you tell Henry (Segerstrom, who spearheaded the establishment of the theater complex near South Coast Plaza),” she said playfully. Actually, so far I haven’t reached Segerstrom. Hope he is reading this.

While I got a kick out of contacting the lucky gift recipients, I also learned that being rich by proxy has a downside. I began receiving telephone calls from people representing numerous other causes--ranging from preservation of a greenbelt along Santiago Creek to programs for mentally ill children--or technologies for cleaning up the environment.

Graciously, Smith agreed to have the petitions referred to the legal firm handling her taxes. But I’m glad that she, and not I, will sift through the requests to decide which ones deserve her assistance and, worse, which ones to turn down.

In fact, I certainly have the easier job, since I am sharing in all of the fun and none of the responsibility.