The wealthiest real estate developer in America has publicly disowned his own son with a frosty statement just as the 33-year-old heir stands accused of fleecing investors out of millions.
Donald Bren, the intensely private 92-year-old patriarch of California‘s most powerful property empire, delivered a stunning twelve-word declaration through a spokesman when asked about his embattled son, David, the mastermind behind a private members’ club called The Bunker.
‘We do not have a personal or business relationship with this individual,’ Bren said of his own offspring.
The statement marks the ultimate corporate excommunication of a blood relative, one who had allegedly invoked the Bren name to draw investors into what lawsuits now describe as a ‘mirage’ – a $90 million luxury members’ club that never existed.
David Bren is accused of drumming up funds to bankroll an elaborate fantasy – a supercar-laden, cigar-swirling, billionaire boys’ club in the heart of Beverly Hills.
He pitched The Bunker as a ‘Soho House for car lovers.’
On paper, it promised $14,500-a-month memberships and access to a $50 million fleet of supercars including Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches, alongside lavish dining, exclusive wine and private smoking lounges.
Investor decks name-dropped titans like Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison, NBA star Kristaps Porziņģis, and fashion heir August Getty as supposed founding members.
Billionaire Donald Bren, 92, has publicly disowned his own son with a frosty statement as the 33-year-old heir stands accused of fleecing investors out of millions
David Bren, 33, is accused of drumming up funds to bankroll an elaborate fantasy – a supercar-laden, cigar-swirling, billionaire boys’ club in the heart of Beverly Hills
The Bunker’s Beverly Hills home was to be at Mr C’s Beverly Hills Hotel, pictured above. The hotel is now called Cameo and is owned by Hilton
The entire project was all anchored under the prestige of the Bren surname.
But lawsuits say The Bunker was nothing more than smoke, mirrors, and well-dressed PowerPoint slides.
‘The Bunker does not exist. There is no ultra-high end automotive club. There are no members. The business is a mirage,’ one lawsuit bluntly alleges.
The brutality of father Donald’s dismissal is almost as jaw-dropping as the alleged scheme itself.
One of the richest men in America, with a net worth north of $19 billion, the real estate mogul is known for his obsession with control, minimalism, and precision.
He reportedly insists on ten-point Arial font in all documents and refuses to share elevators at his Irvine, California, headquarters.
When it came to his estranged son’s financial implosion Donald opted for a cold response.
To investors, many of whom say they were lured in by David’s last name, the billionaire’s detachment feels like both betrayal and vindication.
‘He presented like he could have picked up the phone and called his father right away,’ said Chris Rising, an associate of the Bren family whose LA realty firm was roped into David’s attempts to buy Mr C’s Beverly Hills Hotel.
Many investors say they were lured in the Bren name. David is seen in a video for The Bunker
Lawsuits say The Bunker was nothing more than well-dressed PowerPoint slides
The brutality of father Donald’s dismissal is almost as jaw-dropping as the alleged scheme itself. Bren is pictured at his company headquarters in 2010
To other potential investors, David painted Donald as a deadbeat.
‘He was slick. He played this, like, victim; that’s how he pulled people’s heartstrings. ‘My Dad didn’t give me nothing; I could do this, but no one believes in me,’ said Mike Tran, a close friend of one investor to the Los Angeles Times.
More than a dozen investors say they poured six and seven-figure sums into The Bunker after being dazzled by David’s swagger which included showing up to property tours in a purple Lamborghini and hosting luxury events he claimed were co-sponsored by Louis Vuitton.
Nanxi Liu, a tech entrepreneur, gave him $100,000.
‘He really pressed me on it. He said you have to invest in this. Put in half a million… do it for me. I’m involved in this business. I’m advising them… it’s going to be so awesome. It’s the Soho House for car lovers,’ she recalled her mentor Tony Chen saying.
Chen, who championed David, had pumped hundreds of thousands into the venture but soon spiraled into guilt, depression and, ultimately, suicide.
He was found dead in a garage in San José in September 2022. He had hanged himself at the age of 46.
More than a dozen investors say they poured six and seven-figure sums into The Bunker after being dazzled by David’s swagger
The Bunker was supposed be an exclusive private members club – a Soho House for car lovers
On paper, The Bunker promised $14,500-a-month memberships and access to a $50 million fleet of supercars including Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches, alongside lavish dining, exclusive wine and private smoking lounges
One of the richest men in America, Donald has a net worth north of $19 billion
Donald lives in Newport Beach, California, where his real estate firm is headquartered
Tran, who housed Chen in his final weeks, believes David preyed on Chen’s trust.
‘Tony built out this thing for this guy like, “Oh man, he’s this underdog. He’s this David. And if he gets this right, he’s going to become Goliath,'”‘ said Tran.
David’s victims are left wondering how someone so connected could vanish with so much – and face no criminal charges.
At least four separate lawsuits accuse David of fraud, defaulting on leases, forging luxury lifestyle appearances, and breaking into a Beverly Hills home to live rent-free.
Judgments against him total roughly $2.6 million – and growing.
In one case, two Middle Eastern investors say they handed over $1 million for a Bunker location in Dubai.
When they asked for a refund, David gave them a $500,000 check which bounced.
In another, a plaintiff says he earned a 25 percent return on a $100,000 seed investment – only to be lured into giving another $150,000. He never saw the money again.
Bren never showed up to court, nor retained attorneys in the Bunker cases, and has faced no criminal charges despite referrals to the LAPD and FBI.
‘There’s nothing happening. The Bunker isn’t becoming anything,’ said Joshua Ritter, an attorney representing multiple defrauded investors. ‘There’s no locations opening. It’s all just talk.’
David’s relationship with his billionaire father has always been fraught.
In 2003, when he was just 11, his mother Jennifer McKay Gold sued Donald for retroactive child support.
The case dragged out for years, exposing embarrassing details about the reclusive tycoon’s private life.
Although a jury ruled in Donald’s favor in 2010, the damage to the family dynamic appears to have been irreversible.
Donald reportedly paid nearly $9 million in child support and education for David and his sister Christie, but withheld deeper involvement.
His emotional detachment is now legend. Bloomberg once described him as ‘scrupulous, though not much of a people person.’
David’s relationship with his billionaire father has always been fraught. In 2003, when he was just 11, his mother Jennifer McKay Gold sued Donald for retroactive child support. Gold and David are seen here in a photo from 2010
Donald, a former marine, allegedly refuses to share an elevator with anyone at his office. He is pictured here in 2005 at the age of 72
The Irving Co headquarters which Donald and other investors bought for $337 million in 1977
He reportedly drives alone around Irvine in a dark SUV taking notes on landscaping he wants changed. Security clears hallways before he enters. Elevators are reserved for him alone. Even Irvine’s former mayor said she never met him.
David was last known to be living in a Bel-Air mansion, and recent social media posts suggest he’s relocated to Miami.
While lawsuits stack up no criminal charges have been filed and no formal investigation is publicly known to be under way.
Nanxi Liu, whose lawsuit resulted in a default judgment after she received just $10,000 back, remains dumbfounded.
‘Here in the US we have what I feel is one of the strongest legal systems, and yet, this person is still able to do everything that he’s doing.’