Billionaire Ronald Burkle is suing political power-broker Darius Anderson, accusing his former prot\u00e9g\u00e9 and friend of cheating him out of millions of dollars. <\/p>\n
Burkle alleges that Anderson used the billionaire\u2019s network and a seed investment to build a powerful lobbying firm \u2014 only to later divert Burkle\u2019s share of the profits to himself. The legal feud marks a dramatic falling-out between Anderson and his longtime mentor Burkle, who was the best man at Anderson\u2019s wedding. <\/p>\n
Anderson has responded with a lawsuit of his own seeking to dissolve their partnership in the lobbying firm on account of Burkle\u2019s \u201cgreed, mercurial behavior, and public reporting of relationships held by Mr. Burkle with certain individuals,\u201d according to a complaint filed by Anderson\u2019s company, DWA Enterprises.<\/p>\n
Anderson\u2019s legal counsel referenced media reports on Burkle\u2019s connections to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> and Harvey Weinstein<\/a> when asked what specific relationships his client had concerns about. <\/p>\n Burkle\u2019s attorney, Patty Glaser, dismissed these references as an effort to distract from Anderson\u2019s own wrongdoing, stating that Burkle has maintained for decades that Epstein \u201cwas a creep\u201d and that his only connection to Weinstein was as an investor in movies produced by his companies.<\/p>\n The legal wrangling began on Feb. 6, when OA 3, LLC, a company Burkle owns, filed a lawsuit accusing Anderson of paying himself more than $16.5 million from the accounts of his lobbying firm from 2014 to 2025, while purposely depriving Burkle of any share in the profits. <\/p>\n OA 3 owns a 20% stake in Anderson\u2019s lobbying firm Platinum Advisors, LLC, according to the complaint. The Sacramento-based firm with offices in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., has represented dozens of powerful clients, including Anthem Inc., Sony Interactive Entertainment and Capital One, according to its website.<\/a> <\/p>\n The lawsuit further accuses Anderson of using two offshoot LLCs and a real estate company to funnel himself around $5 million in additional profits.<\/p>\n \u201cAnderson quietly orchestrated a decade-long campaign of self-dealing \u2014 funneling millions to himself through undisclosed payments, creating secret competing entities, and systematically depriving his business partner of every dollar owed,\u201d alleges the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by OA 3 against Anderson and several of his business ventures.<\/p>\n In response, Anderson accused Burkle of attempting to \u201csmear\u201d him as part of a \u201cbroader strategy to extract an unwarranted monetary payment,\u201d according to a complaint filed by Anderson\u2019s DWA Enterprises against Burkle\u2019s entity OA 3. <\/p>\n Anderson alleges in the complaint that Burkle has made more than an 800% return on a small seed investment he made in the lobbying firm, while doing no work for the business. <\/p>\n DWA Enterprises filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to dissolve the businessmen\u2019s partnership in the lobbying firm Platinum Advisors LLC, arguing the partners have \u201creached an impasse\u201d and can no longer work together. DWA Enterprises filed a similar lawsuit in San Francisco asking a judge to dissolve Anderson\u2019s partnership with Burkle in the real estate company Kenwood Investments LLC, in which Burkle\u2019s company owns a 10% share.<\/p>\n On a more personal scale, the legal duel between Burkle and Anderson has become a battle over reputation \u2014 as these two influential figures in California politics and business attack each other\u2019s character.<\/p>\n \u201cOn his eponymous website, Darius Anderson touts himself as a \u2018modern day renaissance man,\u2019\u201d the lawsuit filed by Burkle\u2019s company states. \u201cAnderson\u2019s image appears large on the landing page, dressed in cowboy attire. … Anderson is not a renaissance man, but rather a manager who abused his authority and betrayed the fiduciary duties he owed to his investor, friend, and mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Anderson\u2019s legal counsel said it has become \u201cuntenable\u201d for Anderson to be associated with Burkle \u201cin light of public reporting about his affiliations with certain individuals\u201d such as Weinstein and Epstein. Anderson alleges that these relationships have negatively affected his business and led to \u201creputational concerns raised by female employees,\u201d according to his company\u2019s complaint. <\/p>\n Burkle said in a phone interview that he has not been to the lobbying firm\u2019s offices or interacted with its female employees. He maintained that his only relationship to the business was that of a passive investor. <\/p>\n Burkle\u2019s name appeared in court documents released in 2024 accusing him of having knowledge<\/a> of Epstein\u2019s sexual-trafficking conduct. Burkle said he flew once on Epstein\u2019s jet as part of a humanitarian trip with President Clinton in 2002. He said he didn\u2019t see anything illegal, but found Epstein to be \u201cstrange\u201d and opted to fly home commercial.<\/p>\n