Sacramento entrepreneur · Greek American
Phil Angelides
Developer; former California State Treasurer; chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
A Sacramento-born developer who became State Treasurer and led the national inquiry into the 2008 financial crisis.
Phil Angelides is a Sacramento-born real estate developer who served as California State Treasurer from 1999 to 2007 and chaired the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which reported to Congress in January 2011.
By the numbers
The data
Treasurer’s investment initiatives, billions of dollars
Source: Wikipedia (Phil Angelides). Double Bottom Line: inner-city and underserved communities; Green Wave: environmental businesses.
The story of Phil Angelides
Angelides was born in Sacramento on June 12, 1953, to Greek immigrant parents, and earned a degree in government at Harvard in 1974. He worked at the state Housing and Community Development agency from 1975 to 1983, became president of AKT Development in 1984 and founded his own firm, River West, in 1986.
River West developed Laguna West in Elk Grove, an early New Urbanism community, and in 2005 the Congress for the New Urbanism gave Angelides its Lifetime Achievement Award.
As Treasurer he launched the ScholarShare college savings plan in 1999 and steered state investment toward underserved communities through the $14 billion Double Bottom Line Initiative and toward clean technology through the Green Wave. He was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006, chaired the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission from 2009, and joined the board of Climate United in 2023.
Awards and recognition
Milestones
- 1953Born in Sacramento (June 12).
- 1974Harvard degree in government.
- 1984President, AKT Development.
- 1986Founds River West; Laguna West follows in Elk Grove.
- 1999Becomes State Treasurer; ScholarShare launches.
- 2005CNU Lifetime Achievement Award.
- 2006Democratic nominee for governor.
- 2009Named chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
- 2011Commission report presented (January).
- 2023Joins the Climate United board.
Companies and ventures
Lessons for business builders
- Design ideas travel: Laguna West helped popularize walkable suburbs.
- Capital can do two jobs, earning a return and serving a community.
- Business experience is useful in public service, and the reverse.
Sources
Photo: Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Figures marked firm-reported come from the company; all others from the sources above, checked November 2026.
