Sanford Diller

1928 - 2018

Sanford Diller

June 4, 1928 - February 2, 2018

Sanford Diller, the self-made founder and CEO of real estate development giant Prometheus Real Estate Group, whose intense drive and passion led to immeasurable progress in healthcare, the arts, education, youth leadership development, and civic spaces, died Friday of natural causes in Woodside, CA.
Sanford was born and raised in San Francisco.  His parents Jacob and Claire Diller emigrated from Austria.  He received his BA from UC Berkeley where he met his beloved wife Helen Samuels Diller z'l and he went on to UC Hastings and USF to study law and receive his JD. 
After many years of practicing law, Sanford switched careers in 1965 and founded Prometheus Real Estate Group.  Under his leadership and tutelage for over 50 years, Prometheus grew into one of the largest and most successful apartment development and investment companies in the San Francisco Bay Area with apartments and commercial projects throughout the West Coast with a major emphasis on Silicon Valley, Seattle and Portland. 
Sanford always pushed for great design and was one of the first developers to design apartments that enabled the new growing renter demographic to live in spacious "homes" rather than the utilitarian boxes prevalent in the industry at that time.  He developed thousands of award-winning apartments recognized nationally for their design, garden-style environments, and innovation.  He invested in high-quality projects designed and built for the long-term rather than the merchant builder approach. 
In his work, Sanford's greatest pride came from cultivating, mentoring, and challenging his employees.  He always drove people to "look forward" and always "strive to do better."  He was a mentor to so many in the apartment industry who now run successful companies and credit Sanford for their training.
In philanthropy, as in business, Sanford believed deeply in identifying, cultivating and supporting talented leaders.  One of his greatest pleasures in life was seeing the remarkable work that could be accomplished by trusting individuals to spread their wings, dream, and to think the unthinkable.  Above all, he valued leadership that transformed ideas into action that achieved great results. 
Sanford quietly planned and executed his and Helen's philanthropy with a bold vision whether local, national or global.
At UCSF, Sanford and Helen catalyzed significant development and growth in healthcare through major funding of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Helen Diller Family Cancer Building at Mission Bay.  Sanford continued working with UCSF until his final days to execute bold plans for the future that will help ensure cutting-edge medical discovery, world-class patient treatment, and access to the most expert health professionals for the benefit of the Bay Area and humanity.
Sanford and Helen also spearheaded major gifts to support public access to the arts through The Contemporary Jewish Museum, the SFMOMA, and the DeYoung.  In addition, he and Helen envisioned and made possible the Helen Diller family playgrounds at Julius Kahn Park, Mission Dolores Park and the new Civic Center playgrounds which are scheduled to open February 14th.
As the child of immigrants who fled Europe to escape persecution, Sanford always believed deeply in democratic and Jewish values, educating the next generation, supporting Israel as the Jewish homeland, and giving back in a way that makes the world better than how he found it.  Through the San Francisco based Jewish Community Federation and the Helen Diller Supporting Foundation, Sanford and Helen created the international Diller Teen Leadership Program, the national Diller Tikkun Olam Award for teens, the Diller Educator Awards, among many other programs that recognized, cultivated, and inspired talent to ensure a vibrant Jewish community for future generations.
Sanford was predeceased by his wife Helen Diller of blessed memory, and is survived by his daughter Jackie Safier, his sons Brad Diller and Ron Diller, his son-in-law Dan Safier, his daughter-in-law Emanuela Diller and his beloved grandchildren, Yoni, Joseph, Josh, Lauren, Ben, Roy, and Danielle.
The family will be holding a private funeral service in Jerusalem, Israel where Mr. Diller will be buried on the Mount of Olives.  There will be no public memorial or public shiva.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Jewish Community Federation's Diller Teen programs or the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF.