ATLAS SHRUGGED

A brawny bodybuilder with a generous side: atypical Wall Street sage. But as CIO of Scott Minerd was an Guggenheim Partners, he oversaw billions for the firm and made millions for himself to him and His sudden death shocked spurred infighting over his $400 million estate even those closest

- DIRK SMILLIE

ON THE LAST DAY OF SCOTT MINERD'S LIFE, HE AWOKE BEFORE DAWN IN THE "BIG FRIENDS SPANISH REVIVAL MANSION HIS HOUSE" WHAT CALLED IN RANCHO SANTA FE, JUST NORTH OF SAN DIEGO.

The six-acre estate has its own vineyard and horse stables, a palatial master bedroom warmed by a 17th-century-style fireplace, and a lagoon with waterfalls and a swim-up bar. Neighbors once included the former chair of Hewlett-Packard, who reportedly paid the Rolling Stones $2 million to perform at a private party for his wife just down the road.

Minerd was new to Rancho Santa Fe, having fled south from Marina del Rey to escape the pandemic, but he got COVID anyway. When he awoke that morning of December 21, 2022, he felt sluggish. Was it just jet lag from a recent 17-hour flight he took to see the World Cup in Qatar? The lingering symptoms of long COVID? Or maybe another late night watching Monty Python episodes on his phone, which he was known to do. “He was a hypochondriac,” said a friend. “Every day he woke up, Scott thought something was wrong with him.”

As global chief investment officer for Guggenheim Partners, he oversaw nearly $300 billion in assets under management at the firm. Minerd was constantly in motion. If he wasn’t in Zoom calls and portfolio manager meetings at his office in Santa Monica, he was on the road. He visited the Kennedys in Hyannis Port; shared the stage with Al Gore at Davos; debated Tony Blair at the Milken Institute Global Conference; enjoyed a Dodgers game next to Magic Johnson in the owner’s box. One of his last major deals for the firm was joining Elisabeth Murdoch in a $100 million investment in LeBron James’s entertainment outfit, The SpringHill Company.