PERSON: Rick Caruso

Caruso Properties

Founder / Executive Chairman ·

Rick Caruso’s grandparents, Augusto and Josephine, immigrated to America separately as teenagers, both coming from Italy through Ellis Island. They met, fell in love, married and eventually settled in Boyle Heights in the late 1920s. Augusto worked as a gardener, operating from the back of his pickup truck and planting the seeds for four thriving generations of family in the City of Angels. At their regular Sunday dinners, Rick’s grandmother relentlessly emphasized the importance of hard work, honoring the family name, keeping faith and giving back to their community.

Caruso’s father, Henry ran track at Marshall High, served in World War II and then attended the University of Southern California on the G.I. Bill. He achieved great early success in auto sales but took a massive personal fall in his career when he was indicted and served time for fraud. Rick drew the ultimate lessons from his father’s refusal to allow his mistakes to define him. Through his father, Rick learned the importance of redemption, and the value of offering people a second chance. After this setback, Henry founded Dollar Rent-a-Car, one of the most successful car rental franchises in America. Growing up, Rick attended Good Shepherd Grammar School, served as an altar boy and graduated from Harvard High. He received his bachelor’s degree from USC in 1980 and a law degree from Pepperdine in 1983, where he was later named Alumnus of the Year. Rick and his wife Tina have been married for 35 years and are the proud parents of four children: Alex, Gregory, Justin, and Gianna.

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