Rick Caruso Recruits Netflix and Amazon Leaders to Launch Fire Recovery Initiative
Former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso is launching a non-profit that aims to pressure the government to expedite the cleanup and recovery in the wake of January’s devastating L.A. fires.
Caruso, owner of the Grove and Americana shopping centers as well as Palisades Village, recruited business leaders to join the initiative, entitled Steadfast LA, including Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and his wife, philanthropist Nicole Avant, as well as Amazon’s Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM studios.
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The move comes just a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a similar private-sector fundraising effort with support from Magic Johnson, Mark Walter and Casey Wassermann. That initiative, called L.A. Rises, came with the blessing of Mayor Karen Bass, who called it “a vital component of a comprehensive effort to bring Angelenos home.”
Bass is up for reelection next year, and there has been widespread speculation that Caruso will challenge her in a rematch of their 2022 campaign. In an interview with Politico on Monday, Caruso denied that the non-profit is a prelude to a new campaign.
“This isn’t about politics at all,” he told the outlet. “It’s not even on my radar at this point.”
In the four weeks since the fires broke out, the focus has turned to remediating toxic waste on burned-out lots and getting the clean-up process started before rebuilding can begin. In a series of comments on social media, Caruso has been sharply critical of the slow pace of the recovery effort.
“Is anyone else frustrated?” he asked on X on Jan. 26. “It has been 3 weeks since the fire started.”
He also blasted Bass for reopening Pacific Palisades to the general public, saying the area “is still full of hazards.”
“The lucky few who still have homes are left unprotected,” he wrote on Saturday. “LAPD doesn’t have the resources. This is reckless.”
Steadfast LA will be solely funded by Caruso and is intended to bring private-sector expertise to help cut “red tape.”
“This isn’t about meetings and paperwork,” Caruso said in a statement. “It’s about getting our hands dirty, breaking through obstacles, and physically rebuilding – brick-by-brick, street-by-street… This is more than a project – it’s a mission to prove that real leadership means results, not just promises.”
Sarandos and Avant supported Caruso’s campaign against Bass in 2022. Other members of the advisory board come from the legal, banking, real estate and construction arenas.
Bass has tapped Steve Soboroff, another former mayoral candidate and real estate developer, to serve as her “chief recovery officer.” L.A. Rises launched with a $100 million pledge from Walter, the chairman of the L.A. Dodgers. The mission of that group is to “augment and amplify” the government rebuilding effort.
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