3 minute read
Last year, Paul Brenneke bought a sushi chain and spent $12,769 on water
#1
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Of all the Portlanders who spent the pandemic holed up in gated estates, Paul Brenneke probably made the most of his time.
His investment company, Sortis Holdings, spent 2020 investing in distressed companies—such as Rudy’s Barbershop and a camper company called Happier Camper—which he believes can turn profitable. Among his purchases: the company that owns Bamboo Sushi, the chain favored by Mayor Ted Wheeler and most of the starting lineup for the Portland Trail Blazers. Last November, he told Oregon Business he picked Bamboo because sushi is perfect for home delivery: “A lot of cuisines do not travel well,” he observed. “Sushi travels well because it is room temperature and it doesn’t get too cold. It is also something people don’t make at home.”
Brenneke’s grandfather started Portland-based Guardian Real Estate, where Brenneke learned the ropes. He then started his own real estate company and went on to be part of a crew of ambitious developers in the early 2000s that started building high-rises downtown.
Brenneke has no interest in discussing his water usage. He did not respond to requests for comment fielded by his investment company.
His 1.85-acre property on South Summerville Avenue, which he purchased in 2001, is cocooned by tall fir trees secluding him off from neighboring properties. It’s outfitted with a pool, multiple porches and a covered pool area with reclining chairs. The 10,400-square-foot house is impossibly white and surrounded by neat squares of grass and trimmed hedges. In 2015, when Brenneke made the list at #9, he told WW that the list was “vilifying people with big houses.”
How much water did he use?
Enough to put out 56 houses engulfed in flames. Prior Hog honors: 2015
#2
Inskeep ignored multiple calls, voicemails and a handwritten note scribbled on a torn piece of paper left on the gate in front of his brick Dunthorpe estate.
Inskeep’s father helped found the state’s first mutual fund firm, and Inskeep now runs multiple investments and the IFC Foundation, which provides college scholarships. An environmental learning center at Clackamas Community College is named after Inskeep’s grandfather.
His property, situated along Southwest Iron Mountain Boulevard and now valued at $4.3 million, is dotted with bushes, leafy trees and climbing plants that snake up the side. Unlike many of his neighbors, who just have hedges surrounding their properties, Inskeep has double protection from onlookers: hedges and a fence, which, at only 4 feet tall, is unlikely to deter anyone who takes a running start.
How much water did he use?
Enough to fill 25,772 standard barrels. Prior Hog honors: 2007
#3
Homeowners: Kate Lieber and Monique Matheson Water used: 988,925 gallons Water bill: $5,339
Sen. Kate Lieber (D-Beaverton) was not jazzed to hear she was one of the city’s biggest residential users of water. “Well, that’s not great,” she said.
Lieber is the first-ever Hydro Hog who’s a sitting state senator. She and her wife, Monique Matheson, are a powerful couple: Matheson is the chief human resources officer at Nike’s World Headquarters on the opposite side of the Southwest Hills. Lieber was elected to the Oregon Senate last year after a career working as a prosecutor for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office on child abuse cases. The couple met during law school in Indiana and have two kids together.
They bought the 1.8-acre property in 2013 in the Sylvan Highlands neighborhood, and it rests at the end of a long, gated driveway that’s lined with rhododendron bushes. The white house is surrounded by huge trees and lush ground cover and has a pool and tennis court.
Showing savvy political instincts, Lieber spoke with WW for 20 minutes about her family’s water usage—and graciously expressed her embarrassment. Lieber says when she told Matheson the news, she was embarrassed, too. “You think of Oregon as having a lot of water, but as a first year legislator, I really learned that’s not true. The drought is incredibly serious for all Oregonians. We all need to be concerned about water.” She added that they’ll be installing a whole new sprinkler system this winter.
