Frank Owen Goldberg was born on 28 February 1929, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, of Russian, Jewish and Polish descent. Frank is an architect, known for creating numerous world-renowned attractions, and is considered one of the most influential figures in contemporary architecture. Vanity Fair has labelled him “the most important architect of our age”; all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Frank Gehry? As of late-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through his successful career in architecture. Some of his best known works include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the New World Center in Miami Beach. All of these have helped ensure the position of his wealth.
Frank Gehry Net Worth $50 million
At a young age, Frank already showed a lot of creativity and was encouraged by his grandmother to continue his craft. He built little cities using scraps of wood and started to develop a liking for “everyday” materials thanks to spending time at his grandfather’s hardware store. Their family immigrated to the United States in 1947, and he would study at Los Angeles City College while working as a delivery truck driver. Eventually, he attended the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture and graduated in 1954. After graduating, he went on to do numerous jobs, including serving in the United States Army. Two years later, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Graduate School of Design and study city planning, left prematurely because he didn’t like the ideals of the school, in particular apparent political bias, correctness.
He returned to Los Angeles and started working at Victor Gruen Associates, and was given his chance to design a private residence at the age of 28; the house would become “The David Cabin” which featured numerous Asian influences. In 1961, he moved to Paris and started working there, but the following year he moved to Los Angeles, and started his own practice which would eventually become Frank Gehry and Associates in 1967. He designed several projects in Southern California including the Santa Monica Palace, however, what really pushed him to popularity was his own residence, which he purchased in 1977 and re-designed.
He continued on projects in the 1980s, including the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the California Museum of Science and Industry. In 1989, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in recognition of his successful works. He continued making designs in the 1990s, most of which were national and international commissions, helping create the Dancing House, Frederick Weisman Museum of Art, and the Cinematheque Francaise. He reached international acclaim when he opened the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain in 1997, after which he started getting a lot more major commissions, and established himself as one of the world’s most notable architects. He worked on several concert halls, and was responsible for designing Millennium Park in Chicago. He also designed various academic buildings such as the Peter B. Lewis Library and the Stata Center. Some of his most recent projects include the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building at Sydney University, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. In 2014, the Biomuseo in Panama and the Fondation Louis Vuitton were also opened.
For his personal life, Frank changed his last name due to the antisemitism he experienced as a child. It is known that Gehry married Anita Snyder in 1952, but they divorced in 1966; they had two daughters. In 1967, he married Berta Isabel Aguilera and they have two sons. He is a fan of ice hockey and holds dual citizenship. He is also a member of the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey.
