‘RACIAL ARISTOCRACY’

Billionaire’s Son: LA Club Barred Me Because I Have a Hispanic Wife

Matthew Winnick, whose father Gary Winnick made a fortune in telecommunications, is suing Hillcrest Country Club after being denied membership.

A late billionaire’s son is suing Los Angeles’ elite Hillcrest Country Club, calling it “a racial aristocracy, subsidized by the city” and alleging he was blackballed because his wife and kids’ Hispanic heritage. Matthew Winnick, whose father Gary Winnick made a fortune in telecommunications, unspooled a litany of accusations against board members of the historically Jewish club—from nepotism to sexual assault, the Los Angeles Times reported. “There is a group of people who run Hillcrest as their personal fiefdom, violating the basic principles of fairness and equity,” Alex Winnick, his attorney and brother, told the newspaper. The club denied the claims and noted that Gary Winnick was a member until his death and that his sons held his memorial there. “Sounds to me like ... what really seems to upset them is that they could not get into Hillcrest despite the alleged nepotism policy,” attorney Bryan Freedman said. Three Hillcrest members named in the complaint plan to countersue Winnick, he added.