Doug Manchester

Doug Manchester
Doug Manchester in 2019
Born
Douglas Frederick Manchester

(1942-06-03) June 3, 1942 (age 82)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
EducationSan Diego State University (B.A.)
OccupationBusinessman
Political partyRepublican

Douglas Frederick Manchester (born June 3, 1942) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the former chairman of Manchester Financial Group, past chairman and publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune, and an unsuccessful nominee to become United States Ambassador to the Bahamas.[1][2] Manchester, who prefers to be called "Papa Doug",[3] has built some of the tallest hotels and office buildings in San Diego, including Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina and Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, and is credited as a driving force behind the development of the San Diego Convention Center.[3] Manchester also built the triple 5-star Grand Del Mar Resort & Spa, which was sold to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 2015, and he maintains a minority ownership.[4] Manchester also built the Torrey Executive Centre, Manchester Financial Building, Whitetail Lodge and Golf Club, Fairmont Austin and is currently building the Manchester Pacific Gateway.[5]

Manchester is a longtime supporter of conservative causes and Republican candidates.[6][7] His financial support for a 2008 California constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage resulted in some calls for a boycott of his hotels.[8] He was an early financial supporter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and donated $1 million to his inauguration.[9] His subsequent nomination as ambassador to the Bahamas was controversial and was eventually withdrawn.[10][11]

Early life and education

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Born in Los Angeles, California, Manchester grew up in Coronado, California, and the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego, where his father managed an apartment building. He attended La Jolla High School where he played football. He then went to San Diego State College (now University), where he was a member of Sigma Chi and worked as a campus representative for an insurance company.[7] He graduated in 1965 with a B.S. in Business.

Business activities

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After graduating from college, Manchester went into real estate. He founded the Manchester Financial Group in 1970. Eventually he became known for developing large, upscale projects. In the 1980s, Manchester built a 27-story office tower called the Columbia Centre, now known as the 1 Columbia Place, and the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina.[12][13] In the 1990s, he constructed the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel San Diego.[14] He subsequently sold both hotels to Host Hotels & Resorts.[15] He also built The Fairmont Grand Del Mar luxury resort.[16] The resort was sold to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and investor Richard Blum in 2015.[16]

In addition, he founded two banks, the La Jolla Bank and Trust Company (1973) and La Jolla Pacific Savings Bank (1984).[17] Manchester built the 595-foot-tall, 1,066 room Fairmont Austin Hotel, in Austin, Texas, completed in 2018, and the Manchester Pacific Gateway, located on the waterfront in downtown San Diego.[5][18]

His activities have helped to revitalize the San Diego downtown waterfront.[18] Manchester was a major influence in persuading the city of San Diego to build the San Diego Convention Center.[5] Manchester and his company, Manchester Financial Group, also played a major role in transforming Navy Field and San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter into tourist destinations.[19]

In 2011, Manchester bought The San Diego Union-Tribune from Platinum Equity.[20] In 2012, he bought the North County Times and merged it and its subsidiary, The Californian, into the Union-Tribune.[21] In November 2013, he bought eight local weeklies in the San Diego region, which continue to be published as separate papers.[22] In 2015, Manchester sold The San Diego Union-Tribune to Tribune Publishing Company[23] after selling the building for redevelopment.[24]

As of 2017, Manchester was chairman of Landmark Construction Company of San Diego; Torrey Executive Centre; M Resorts, Inc.; Manchester Fifth Avenue Financial LP; Cloverleaf Media, LLC; Manchester Foxhill LLC; Manchester Pacific Gateway, LLC; La Jolla Reserve, LLC; Manchester Grand Hotels, LP; The Grand Del Mar, LLC; Manchester 484 Prospect, LLC; and Torrey Hotel Enterprises, Ltd. He was manager of 101 MPG, LLC; MLIM Holdings, LLC, and Manchester Texas Financial Group LLC. He also had major holdings in Brookfield Asset Management, Disney, Apple, Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, Ford, tronc, and Pfizer. He is the sole owner of M Resorts, Inc., M Investments, LLC, Manchester Lyford Ltd, and Summit Apogee Investments.[25] The Washington Post has noted that Manchester "has a hand in dozens of other businesses, including biotechnology, mortgage receivables, and television and movie productions."[26]

It was reported in May 2018 that Manchester was "about to install his latest and largest implant on San Diego yet," namely the Pacific Gateway project, "a massive redevelopment of the Navy Complex at the foot of Broadway in downtown San Diego." Lori Weisberg at The San Diego Union-Tribune described it as "the single largest and costliest project in downtown San Diego history." Covering 3 million square feet and eight blocks of urban oceanfront, the project will include a 17-story Navy headquarters; three office towers, respectively 29, eight, and six stories high; a retail "paseo"; an 1100-room convention hotel; a 260-room luxury boutique hotel; a museum; a park; and a pedestrian walk along the entire length of the site.[27]

In 2018, The Washington Post reported that during his four years as the owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Manchester "employed an unconventional, anachronistic management style that upended the newspaper's culture and made many female workers uncomfortable." According to the Post and the Daily Aztec, "several female staffers" came forward to claim that Manchester "required some female staffers to wear short black dresses and serve as hostesses for advertisers and other guests."[28] John Lynch, who was chief executive of the Union-Tribune under Manchester's tenure, claimed that "one woman received a small settlement after complaining about unwanted hugs from Manchester."[29]

Political activities

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Manchester is "an outspoken supporter of conservative causes".[6] He donates to Republican candidates at both the local and national level, and once described Donald Rumsfeld as his hero.[7] On buying the Union-Tribune he stated his intention of using the newspaper to promote conservative causes, and the paper's editorial page took on a strongly conservative tone, including the use of front-page wraparound sections to promote development projects and political candidates.[30][31] The New York Times noted that Manchester seems to be using the paper as a "brochure for his special interests", citing San Diego as "a situation where moneyed interests buy papers and use them to prosecute a political and commercial agenda."[32]

In 2008 he donated $125,000 to support signature gathering for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.[33] When the amendment qualified for the ballot as California Proposition 8 he also donated to the campaign in favor of it. Manchester explained his position by saying, "While I respect everyone's choice of partner, my Catholic faith and longtime affiliation with the Catholic Church leads me to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman."[33] His prominent support for the initiative, which was narrowly approved by voters in November 2008 but was ultimately ruled unconstitutional, led to calls by gay-rights groups for a boycott of Manchester's hotels.[8] At his August 2017 Senate hearing about his nomination for an ambassadorship, he said that he now regrets supporting the initiative and believes that same-sex marriage should be legal.[34] His earlier opposition to same-sex marriage, he declared, had been "a huge mistake."[35]

From 2014-2020, Manchester supported Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer through Republican Party of San Diego County and other Political action committees.[36] After selling the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, Manchester bought a 49% interest in 101 Ash St. in July 2015 which was to become San Diego’s new City Hall.[37]

Manchester was an early supporter of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, donating $50,000 to a Trump-aligned super PAC in 2015,[38] and was a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.[39] He and his wife each donated $454,800 to Trump's 2016 campaign.[40] Two weeks after Trump's inauguration, Manchester said that "for the first time, a true capitalist is in the White House, an incredibly smart man with a big heart and an amazing family."[41]

In May 2017 Trump nominated Manchester to become the United States ambassador to The Bahamas, where he owns a house.[34][42][43] It was reported in June 2017 that if Manchester was confirmed as ambassador, he would "surrender day-to-day control of his real estate and investment empire", "receive only passive investment income", and resign as chairman of several of his firms. He appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on August 2, 2017.[44] The committee advanced his nomination to the full Senate on September 19, 2017,[45] but it failed to receive consideration before being returned to the President on January 3, 2018.[43] The nomination was resubmitted on January 8, 2018.[46] His nomination was returned to the President at the close of the 115th Congress,[46] but was resubmitted to the 116th Congress on January 16, 2019.[47] Manchester again appeared before the Committee on Foreign Relations on June 20, 2019.[48] The committee considered his nomination on September 18, 2019,[49] but did not advance it to the full Senate.[47] President Trump withdrew Manchester's nomination on November 13, 2019.[10] Manchester erroneously described the Bahamas as a U.S. protectorate rather than an independent country within the British Commonwealth in congressional questioning.[50]

In late 2019, the Republican National Committee (RNC) cut all ties with Manchester after CBS News obtained emails between Manchester, Ronna McDaniel, and GOP senate staffers suggesting that Manchester might have been engaged in a pay-to-play scheme. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in May 2021 that a federal grand jury had issued a subpoena in a criminal investigation into his nomination as ambassador, apparently focused on the RNC, McDaniel, RNC co-chair Tommy Hicks, and possibly members of Congress.[9]

Philanthropy

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Manchester donated $5 million each to San Diego State University and Wake Forest University.[51] He also made multimillion-dollar donations to the University of San Diego and The Bishop's School. When he contributed to San Diego State, the university changed the name of its Centennial Hall to Manchester Hall. It was the first time the university had changed a building name to honor an alumnus.[52]

He sponsors the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation in San Diego County and contributes money to the Preuss School, Monarch School, Polinsky Children's Center, Southern California Boys and Girls Club, Scripps Memorial Hospital, and San Diego Diocesan Ministries.[51][53][54] He also co-founded the San Diego Crime Commission and San Diego Port Tenants Association.[52]

Manchester donated funds to build the maternity wing at Scripps Memorial Hospital and helped build the Cathedral Catholic High School football stadium. He is the founding chair of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of United Way and gives money to St. Vincent de Paul, the National Conference of Christians and Jews and Billy Graham Crusade.[53]

He is a former trustee of the University of San Diego and of Wake Forest University. He has served on the board of trustees for the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute[55] and the San Diego Symphony.

During November 2022, Manchester donated $1 million to the 114th Anniversary Charity Ball benefiting Chadwick Center for Children and Families located in Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.[56]

Personal life

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In January 1965 he married Elizabeth "Betsy" Manchester, whom he met when both were students at San Diego State; they have five children and thirteen grandchildren. During their four decades together, according to The Washington Post, they "lived an opulent lifestyle that included multiple homes, one an $18 million mansion on the Pacific coast, as well as regular use of private jets and extensive travel."[26] They filed for separation in 2009 and their divorce was finalized in 2013.[57] He and divorced Russian immigrant Geniya Derzhavina[58] were married in December 2013 [59] and they had three children.[60] Manchester filed for marriage dissolution in October 2019 and the couple divorced in December 2019.[61] Manchester listed the family home, the Foxhill Estate purchased from David C. Copley in 2015, for sale in January 2020 according to The Wall Street Journal.[62] Manchester's daughter, Sally Manchester Ricchiuti, died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in September 2020.[63]

Recognition

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References

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  1. ^ "Manchester Financial Group". manchesterfinancialgroup.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  2. ^ Union-Tribune, San Diego. "$85M deal to combine U-T, LA Times". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  3. ^ a b Light, La Jolla. "10 QUESTIONS: Doug Manchester always wants to be startin' something". lajollalight.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  4. ^ "Manchester Sells Majority Stake in Grand Del Mar Resort". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  5. ^ a b c Times, Del Mar. "Doug Manchester adds to portfolio with 1,035-room Fairmont Austin hotel". delmartimes.net. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  6. ^ a b Cohen, Noam; Vega, Tanzina (November 17, 2011). "San Diego Union-Tribune Sold to Hotelier for More Than $100 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Davies, Jennifer (September 27, 2005). "Maverick with muscle: Manchester's combative nature overshadows the developer's softer side". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Hernandez, Barbara (September 15, 2008). "Politics + Economics = Boycott at Hyatt Hotel". CBS News. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Moran, Jeff (May 15, 2021). "Manchester's political contributions, ambassador nod are subject of criminal probe". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  10. ^ a b "One Nomination and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  11. ^ "Manchester's political contributions, ambassador nod are subject of criminal probe". The San Diego Union-Tribune. May 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Source, San Diego (2012-11-28). "Columbia Center in downtown SD sold". The Daily Transcript. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  13. ^ Weisberg, Lori. "Manchester inks Austin hotel contract". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  14. ^ Showley, Roger. "Port approves sale of Manchester Hyatt for $570 million". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  15. ^ "Port Approves Sale Of Manchester Grand Hyatt". 10News. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  16. ^ a b "Manchester Sells Majority Stake in Grand Del Mar Resort". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  17. ^ "SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Manchester seeks to launch community bank". legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  18. ^ a b "» On Top of Downtown". www.ranchandcoast.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  19. ^ "He Covers the Waterfront". Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  20. ^ Aguilera, Elizabeth. "Platinum Equity to sell U-T to Doug Manchester". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  21. ^ "U-T Buys North County Times and Californian | San Diego Business Journal". sdbj.com. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  22. ^ Horn, Jonathan. "U-T buys 8 local community newspapers". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  23. ^ "U-T San Diego Sold to Owner of Los Angeles Times - Times of San Diego". Times of San Diego. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  24. ^ "San Diego Union-Tribune Turns Page With New Downtown Digs". KPBS. KPBS. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  25. ^ Potter, Mat; Deep inside Doug Manchester's money machine; San Diego Reader; June 27, 2017; [1]
  26. ^ a b O'Harrow, Robert; Trump ambassador nominee had unsettling management style, women say ; Washington Post; February 17, 2018; [2]
  27. ^ Gormlie, Frank; Papa Doug Manchester Is Not Done With San Diego Yet – Not by a Long Shot – His Massive Waterfront Project Will Drastically Alter City Skyline; Ocean Beach Rag; May 23, 2018; [3]
  28. ^ Santillan, David (28 February 2018). "Prominent alumnus under scrutiny after allegations of sexual misconduct". The Daily Aztec.
  29. ^ O'Harrow Jr., Robert. "Trump ambassador nominee had unsettling management style, women say". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  30. ^ Lewis, Scott (September 11, 2012). "The Two Faces of Papa Doug". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  31. ^ "Editorial: Think big — New vision needed for downtown waterfront". The San Diego Union-Tribune. January 22, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  32. ^ Carr, David (June 10, 2012). "Newspaper as Business Pulpit". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  33. ^ a b Cathcart, Rebecca (July 17, 2008). "Donation to Same-Sex Marriage Foes Brings Boycott Calls". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  34. ^ a b Stewart, Joshua (August 3, 2017). "Manchester tells senators he regrets contribution to campaign against same-sex marriage". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  35. ^ Coombs, Seth; Ambassador "Papa Doug" Manchester sets sail to the Bahamas; San Diego City Beat; August 9, 2017; [4]
  36. ^ "Donors". Open Secrets. Open Secrets. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  37. ^ "How the City Came to Lease a Lemon". Voice of San Diego. Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  38. ^ Swan, Jonathan (May 15, 2016). "Where Republican donors stand on Donald Trump". The Hill. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  39. ^ Mason, Melanie (May 31, 2016). "Donald Trump's California delegates include House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Darrell Issa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  40. ^ Knowles, Kendeno; 'Papa Doug' still contender for ambassador; EyeWitness News; June 18, 2018; [5]
  41. ^ Ambassador of the U.S. to the Bahamas: Who is Doug Manchester?; AllGov; June 19, 2017; [6]
  42. ^ Stewart, Joshua (May 15, 2017). "Trump nominates Doug Manchester for Bahamas ambassador". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  43. ^ a b "PN462 — Doug Manchester — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  44. ^ "Hearings". U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  45. ^ "Business Meeting". U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  46. ^ a b "PN1384 — Doug Manchester — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  47. ^ a b "PN130 — Doug Manchester — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  48. ^ "Hearings". U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  49. ^ "Business Meeting". U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  50. ^ "Donors to the Trump inaugural committee got ambassador nominations. But are they qualified?". NBC News. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  51. ^ a b "Manchester honored at Nice Guys gala". U-T San Diego. November 2, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  52. ^ a b "San Diego State University Receives $5 Million Gift From Doug and Betsy Manchester: Donation Sets Record for Largest Alumni Couple Gift in University History". California State University System. November 11, 2005. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  53. ^ a b "Philanthropy". Papa Doug Manchester. Doug Manchester. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  54. ^ "Philanthropy". Manchester Financial Group. San Diego, California. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  55. ^ "Biography". Manchester Financial Group. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  56. ^ Sklar, Debbie L. (2022-11-18). "Manchesters, Manchester Family Foundation Donate $1M to 114th Anniversary Charity Ball". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  57. ^ Davis, Rob (January 20, 2012). "Doug Manchester: San Diego's Cheerleader in Chief". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  58. ^ "Papa Doug Manchester picks Siberian bride-to-be". San Diego Reader. 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  59. ^ Potter, Matt (December 30, 2013). "A cool extra million for Papa Doug's ex". San Diego Reader. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  60. ^ "Manchesters Donate $1 Million to Sharp's Mary Birch Hospital - Times of San Diego". Times of San Diego. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  61. ^ "Former San Diego Union-Tribune publisher unloading wife and La Jolla estate: Papa Doug says bye, bye to Geniya". San Diego Reader. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  62. ^ "Onetime Trump Ambassador Pick 'Papa Doug' Lists Historic California Manse for $37 Million - Wall Street Journal". The Wall Street Journal. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  63. ^ "Man accused of selling fentanyl to La Jolla woman pleads not guilty to murder in her death". Times of San Diego. 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  64. ^ Cox, Kevin (October 11, 2005). "Manchesters make $5 million gift to WFU". Wake Forest University News Release. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  65. ^ "Manchester Conference Center". University of San Diego. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  66. ^ "Campus Map". University of San Diego. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  67. ^ DeRobertis, Shelli; Sherman, Pat (August 17, 2012). "Bishop's School to dedicate new library on Aug. 22". La Jolla Light. La Jolla, California. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  68. ^ "Manchester Stadium at Cathedral Catholic High school". ABC 10 news. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
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