Full Tilt
Billionaire John Sobrato’s name these days shows up on buildings associated with his family foundation’s recent philanthropy. Before that, real estate signs blasted his name from industrial parks that lined the valley’s expressways. Perhaps more than any developer, Sobrato sculpted the face of Silicon Valley, giving physical form to the companies of Silicon Valley and creating homes for Amdahl, Cisco, Apple, Yahoo and many others. Sobrato Development today owns and manages almost 10 million square feet of commercial space, consisting of 100 buildings, including one in downtown San Jose built in the waning days of the dotcom boom that still awaits a single corporate tenant.
