The life of San Francisco businessman Clint Reilly has been a remarkable journey. He has
risen from a working class seminary student to become a leading real estate investor and
CEO of his own commercial property management firm located in the heart of the Financial
District. Along the way, he has been a social issues activist, and the head of a
nationally recognized political campaign management firm.
Mr. Reilly, 53, has emerged as one of San Francisco's leading citizen activists. He helped
pass initiatives to ensure public access to Treasure Island (Prop K, 1998) and to impose
downtown growth control laws (Prop M, 1986). He also led the battle against the
controversial San Francisco 49ers stadium-mall project, which passed by a handful of votes
in an election marred by fraud and scandal.
Now, in an attempt to preserve media choice for San Francisco newspaper readers, Mr.
Reilly has filed suit to block the proposed sale of the San Francisco Chronicle to the
Hearst Corporation of New York.
Clint Reilly is owner and CEO of San Francisco's historic Merchants Exchange Building, at
465 California Street in the heart of downtown. This 1904 flagship design by Willis Polk
was the tallest building on the West Coast when built, and was the preeminent survivor of
the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Today it is host to the Merchants Exchange Conference
Center and home to leading West Coast law and Internet firms, as well as headquarters of
Clinton Reilly Holdings.
Under Mr. Reilly's direction, the Merchants Exchange Building has flourished. It is now
home to a diverse and prestigious number of firms representing the best of San Francisco's
oldest and newest businesses. The historic Merchants Exchange Ballroom and Conference
Center, newly decorated and renovated, hosts over 100 events a year, with many of the
world's most prominent individuals passing through its doors.
Mr. Reilly's ownership of a San Francisco landmark is appropriate, as his ties to the city
run deep. Reilly's grandparents were San Francisco natives who lived their entire lives in
the Mission District, and Reilly's father (who has been attending the Chronicle/Examiner
court trial) grew up in a small flat at the corner of 26th and Mission. Clint Reilly
prides himself on his ability to give back to the city that has been home to five
generations of Reilly's, now including Clint's daughter, Jill. He serves on the Board of
Directors of Catholic Charities and supports many other charitable causes, including the
Edgewood program for children and the Mission Learning Center.
In addition, Mr. Reilly owns the Little Fox Theatre, another building rich in San
Francisco history, and an office building in Sacramento.
Before concentrating on real estate and business ventures, Mr. Reilly spent over 25 years
as one of the nation's leading political consultants. He is credited with pioneering the
political consulting industry in California in the early 1970s before the profession even
had a name. His numerous political triumphs over the years include mayoral, congressional,
and initiative campaigns at the federal, state and local levels. In 1999, in his first
attempt as a candidate, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco.
Mr. Reilly, his wife, Janet, and their one-year-old daughter Jill live in San Francisco.
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