Early Life and Education
Geoffrey Harrison Palmer was born on May 11, 1950, in Los Angeles County, California. He is the son of architect and developer Daniel Saxon Palmer. Palmer attended Santa Monica College before transferring to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned a degree in finance. He then earned a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine School of Law.
Rise to Success
After clerking for a California superior court judge, Palmer founded GH Palmer Associates in 1978, choosing real estate development over law as a profession. His career highlights include developing over 15,000 luxury units, primarily in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. He pioneered a vision for Los Angeles with the Medici development, which inspired many other projects. GH Palmer Associates specializes in multifamily housing development.
Key Business Strategies
Palmer's key business strategies include developing luxury apartment complexes in historically low-income neighborhoods. He focused on building market-rate housing in downtown Los Angeles and its suburbs. Palmer has also been involved in lawsuits related to housing regulations, and he has been a major financial backer of former president Donald Trump.
Philanthropy
Geoffrey Palmer is a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). He has also donated to the Pepperdine School of Law and endowed The Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law.