Ronald Tutor, Tracy Tutor of MDLLA’s Father: 5 Fast Facts

Ronald Tutor is the father of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star Tracy Tutor. Before getting into residential real estate, she worked for her father’s construction company, the Tutor Perini Corporation, for three years.

The elder Tutor has often been described as a billionaire over the years. But his estimated net worth appears to have slipped from that highest of echelons. Forbes maintains a real-time list of the more than 2,000 billionaires around the world and as of this writing, Tutor was not listed.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Ronald Tutor Is the Chairman & CEO of One of the Largest Construction Companies in the United States

Ronald Tutor is the chairman and CEO of the Tutor Perini Corporation, a construction company that caters both to private clients and public organizations. Tutor’s father, Albert G. Tutor, started the A.G. Tutor Company, Inc. in 1949, according to the company website. Tutor joined the company in 1963 and took over as president in 1981. By that time, the Tutor Company had merged with N.M. Saliba to become the Tutor-Saliba Corporation.

Tutor-Saliba began its partnership with the Perini Corporation in the late 1990s. According to the Worchester Business Journal, Tutor became the CEO of Perini in 2000, while maintaining ownership of Tutor-Saliba. When the two companies merged in 2008, Tutor benefited financially. The WBJ reported that Tutor received approximately $540 million worth of stock.

Today, Tutor Perini handles some of the largest construction projects in the United States. The firm oversaw the construction of the new Hudson Yards complex on the west side of Manhattan. According to Tutor Perini’s website, the project was valued at more than $2.3 billion.

The company handled the $6.4 billion contract to build CityCenter, a 67-acre mixed-use development located on the Las Vegas Strip between the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Monte Carlo resorts. The project was completed in 2009.

Tutor Perini is building the new Terminal One at the Newark Liberty International Airport for $1.4 billion. That project is scheduled to be completed in 2022. The company was also tapped to extend the Los Angeles subway system.

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2. Tutor Sold His Stake in Miramax Films Three Years After He & His Partners Bought the Company From Disney For $660 Million

After decades of financial success in the construction business, Tutor decided to try his luck in Hollywood. In 2010, he launched Filmyard Holdings LLC. According to paperwork from the SEC, Tutor was the executive officer and director. Other investors included businessmen Tom Barrack, Jr and Richard Nanula.

Filmyard Holdings, along with Colony Capital LLC, purchased Miramax Films from the Walt Disney Company in 2010 for $660 million. The Wrap quoted Tutor at the time, “I am delighted and honored to acquire the Miramax library. On behalf of my partners Tom Barrack and Colony Capital, we look forward to sharing this high-quality content with the world in every form of media for many years to come.” Tutor personally contributed $50 million to close the deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Tutor lived up to the promise that the new firm would share Miramax content. The company made licensing deals with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and made deals to distribute movies on Blu-Ray and DVD.

But Miramax did not develop any new projects or put out new films during this time period. As the Hollywood Reporter noted in 2012, critics questioned Tutor’s strategy to rely solely on the existing library to generate revenue.

Tutor’s fascination with Hollywood and the movie business did not last long. He sold his stake in Miramax Films to co-owner Qatar Investment Authority in 2013. The price was not publicly disclosed.

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3. Tutor Has Owned Mansions in Beverly Hills & Southern Florida, a Private Jet & a Large Yacht

Tracy Tutor is the real estate agent in the family, but her father is also well-versed when it comes to acquiring property. After decades of building his business in southern California, Ronald Tutor appears to have made southern Florida his primary residence in more recent years.

Property records from Miami-Dade County show Tutor purchased a mansion in the town of Golden Beach for $22.5 million in 2018. Golden Beach is a small oceanfront community located north of Miami. Tutor’s mansion includes more than 15,000 square feet of living space, six bedrooms and eight full bathrooms. The house sits directly across from the Atlantic Ocean.

Tutor has owned several homes in southern California. The largest property was a mega-mansion in the gated community of Beverly Park within Beverly Hills. According to Redfin, Tutor purchased the house for $32.2 million in 2008. Berg Properties reported the mansion includes 27,000 square feet of space, nine bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, a movie theater, gym, guest house, tennis court, a 75-foot pool and a 110-yard golf hole.

Tutor purchased the Beverly Park home while he was still living at another mega-mansion in Los Angeles. Tutor bought his 19,000 square foot house in Hidden Hills in 1993 for $4.025 million. The 10-bedroom, 13-bedroom house was put on the market in early 2010 for $18.9 million, Variety reported. But Tutor ultimately settled for a much lower number. Records on Redfin indicate the price was reduced at least five times and it was taken off the market at least twice before finally selling for $7.350 million in June 2013. In 2011, Tutor leased the property for $25,000 per month and daughter Tracy negotiated the deal.

According to a feature on Tutor published in The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, the construction maven owned a 258-foot yacht worth $65 million and a private Boeing 737 jet at the time. The jet caused controversy in 2002. According to Forbes, Tutor wanted to land at the airport located near his vacation home in Sun Valley, Idaho. Airport officials barred him from doing so because the 737 surpassed the airport’s weight limit.

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4. Tutor Attended USC & the Engineering Center Is Named For Him

Tutor was a native of southern California. He attended Van Nuys High School, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Tutor was featured in an alumni history publication in 2016, which highlighted Tutor’s success in the construction industry.

Tutor enrolled at the University of Southern California for college. He graduated from USC’s Marshall School of Business in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Tutor has remained actively involved with his alma mater ever since. He was named to the USC board of trustees in 1998. That announcement came one year after he donated $10 million to build the Ronald N. Tutor Engineering Academic Center. Tutor said at the time, “My 50-year love affair with USC began in childhood, was fanned during my education there and continues through my long-term association with the university. With continuing good fortune in business, I am just so pleased to be able to share that gift with my alma mater.” Tutor was there for the grand opening in 2010.

A six-story instructional and research complex called Ronald Tutor Hall was completed in 2005. The university explained that Tutor’s $10 million donation helped to fund the project. Tutor Perini was also hired to build it.

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5. Tutor Is the Son of Immigrants & Has Been Married Three Times

Tutor is the son of Armenian immigrants. According to a profile in LA Weekly, his father’s birth name was Albert G. Varjabedian. He decided to change it because Americans struggled to pronounce or spell it. The family decided on Tutor because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, their Armenian name meant “teacher” and the word “tutor” was close enough in meaning.

Tutor’s personal life has included three marriages. He is currently married to Alia Tutor, who previously worked at the United Nations’ Office for Partnerships. According to USC News, Alia Tutor has also been involved with an organization called Indego Africa, which provides education and training to female artisans in Rwanda.

Tutor was previously married to Cheryl Jean Osterkamp. Their son, James Douglas Tutor, passed away in 2008 at the age of 43.

Tutor’s two daughters include Tracy and her younger sister, Kristin Tutor Eberts, who works as an interior designer. Both Tracy and Kristin followed in their father’s footsteps and attended USC.

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