Nelson Rising

Nelson Rising (born August 27, 1941) is an American businessman, Chairman and CEO of Rising Realty Partners and Chairman Emeritus of the Real Estate Roundtable. He is also the former President and CEO of MPG Office Trust, Inc. and chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Early Life and Education

Rising was born in Queens, New York and grew up in Glendale, California where he attended Glendale High School where he was an All-CIF football player in 1959. He received a scholarship to UCLA where he received his B.A. in Economics and graduated with honors in 1963. In 1967 he attended UCLA Law School where he earned his Juris Doctor.

Business career

Rising’s professional career began as an associate at O’Melveny & Myers. During this time, he took a leave of absence from the firm, to work as a campaign manager for John Tunney’s United States Senate campaign in 1970. His real estate career officially began in 1973 when he became President of the 5,000 acre Coto de Caza resort community in southeast Orange County. Throughout the growth of his real estate career, Rising stayed involved in California politics, serving as chairman of Tom Bradley’s campaign for mayor in 1973, 1977, and 1981 and Bradley’s campaign for governor in 1982. Rising developed projects throughout the United States and became a senior partner at Maguire Thomas Partners. Web. 22 June 2012 . Rising was responsible for the Library Square development which included the U.S. Bank Tower and the Gas Company Tower. He was partner-in-charge of both the Library Square development as well as Playa Vista, one of the largest and most complicated multipurpose developments in the history of Los Angeles.