Henry Nicholas
Encyclopedia
Henry Thompson “Nick” Nicholas, III (born 1959), is an American
entrepreneur, philanthropist and leader of the victims’ rights movement. He is the co-founder, and former Co-Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Corporation, a Fortune 500
company.
Nicholas served Broadcom in these positions from the company's inception in 1991 until January, 2002, and during his tenure the company grew to $1 billion in revenue faster than any other semiconductor company (48 months). Last year, Broadcom had net revenue of $4.5 billion and currently employs more than 8,338 people worldwide. In the first quarter of 2010 the company had net revenue of $1.46 billion. Broadcom, whose corporate motto is “Connecting Everything,” makes chips that power a wide range of popular consumer products, including Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads, Bluetooth
wireless headsets, Nintendo Wii video games and many leading brands of mobile phones.
In 2003, Nicholas resigned from Broadcom saying that his resignation "was driven entirely by personal issues related to family separation and divorce".
Nicholas, whose sister, Marsy, was murdered in 1983, is one of the nation's leading advocates for victims’ rights. He invested $4.8 million and was the main author of “Marsy's Law
,” a "Victims’ Bill of Rights" California Constitutional Amendment passed by voters in November, 2008, as Proposition 9 on the ballot.. Former California Governor Pete Wilson
calls Nicholas the "driving force" behind Marsy's Law. Four years earlier, in 2004, Nicholas invested $3.5 million and orchestrated an unprecedented bipartisan campaign to defeat Prop. 66, which would have severely weakened California's "Three Strikes" law.
Through his foundation
, Nicholas is a supporter of education initiatives, including two Nicholas Academic Centers
in Santa Ana, California, which provide free after-school tutoring for high school students. As a child, Nicholas suffered from dyslexia and credits the special attention and mentoring he received as a key reason for his later success in academia and in business. The foundation also supports institutions such as UCLA and UC Irvine and programs in medical research, youth sports, national defense and other areas.
Nicholas is ranked number 236 on the 2009 list of Forbes' richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
to Marcella
and Henry T. Nicholas Jr., and lived in Glendale, Ohio
until he was 4 years old. His father was an attorney
with the IRS and his mother was a teacher and later an administrator and theater instructor in the Princeton School District. When his parents divorced, he moved with his mother and sister to Los Angeles, California.
His mother remarried, to Robert Leach
, a journalist and Hollywood screenwriter, who authored feature film scripts and episodes of such classic television shows as Perry Mason and Sea Hunt. Nicholas attended elementary schools in Malibu and Santa Monica High School.
Throughout his schooling, Nicholas suffered from dyslexia.
He received a Bachelor of Science
degree in Electrical Engineering
from the UCLA, after attending the United States Air Force Academy
, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nicholas earned a Masters Degree and PhD. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. His doctoral dissertation on “Architectures, Optimization Techniques, and VLSI Implementations for Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizers” became the basis for the development of the chip that launched Broadcom.
in Redondo Beach
, where he met Dr. Henry Samueli, his future business partner who also was a professor of engineering at UCLA. Nicholas later moved to PairGain Technologies in Cerritos, California
, where he was director of Microelectronics. He left PairGain in 1991 to start Broadcom Corporation with Samueli.
From the end of 1998 through 2002 revenue at the company increased fivefold, from $216 million to $1.082 billion, and hiring of full-time employees increased sixfold: from 411 to 2,500. During this time, Broadcom acquired 22 companies and was issued 120 patents. Today, Broadcom is a Fortune 500
company with revenue in 2009 of $4.49 billion, 7,407 employees and 3,800 patents. Revenue for the first quarter of 2010 was $1.46 billion.
The company currently hold or has pending more than 13,000 patents. The company is known for its strong engineering culture, Nearly 6,000 of its employees—75% of its workforce—are R&D engineers and more than 600 of these have PhDs.
Broadcom makes chips that run mobile phones, cable modems, set-top boxes, Wi-Fi routers, digital TVs and office data centers. Its products enable voice, video, data and multimedia communication in homes, offices and across mobile networks. The company’s products target three end market segments—the home, handheld products and networking infrastructure—encompassing over 20 lines of business. Broadcom’s customer base includes such industry leaders as Sony, HP, Samsung, Motorola, Dell, Cisco, Nokia, Nortel, LG Electronics, Netgear, Alcatel-Lucent, Thomson and DirectTV.
A key focus for the company has been addressing the user experience in the home by connecting cable, game consoles, PCs, digital TV, Wi-Fi routers, VoIP and other devices. Broadcom also is focused on providing infrastructure for next-generation wired and wireless services such as cloud computing. And it is addressing the trend in smart phones to accelerate wireless connectivity that enables such features as GPS and rich widget support for news, weather, stock quotes, YouTube and Facebook. Nicholas retired from Broadcom in 2003, ostensibly to work on his marriage.
As Broadcom’s CEO, Nicholas worked with many technology leaders, including the late Steve Jobs
. At the time of Jobs' death on Oct. 5, 2011, Nicholas was asked to share his recollections of Apple’s iconic co-founder, who was a major Broadcom customer. In an interview with Business Week magazine, Nicholas recalled that when Jobs would call, “it would probably be in the middle of the night.” He said Jobs “was like a bulldog…He wasn’t overbearing or unreasonable. He just had incredibly high expectations.” Nicholas also recalled another side to Jobs: “Once he had satisfied his need for information, he would mellow. We talked about music.” He said Jobs’ drove everyone he worked with to make “technology simpler to use instead of more complex, and he made me feel like I was taking part in something special.”
focuses on improving the quality of life through investments in education
, youth sports, medicine, technology, law enforcement and national defense.
—found Justice for Homicide Victims, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports families of murder victims. He was the 2005 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award for Pioneering Achievement in Criminal Justice, and has been honored frequently by law enforcement organizations for his work supporting victims’ rights.
In 2004, California voters were considering Proposition 66, which would have eliminated much of the state's Three Strikes Law
and resulted in thousands of felons being released from state prisons. Twelve days before the election, polls showed Prop. 66 held a seemingly insurmountable lead and was headed toward passage with as much as 75% of the vote. Nicholas became involved and organized a bipartisan coalition of elected officials, including the living California Governors—Arnold Schwarzenegger
, Gray Davis
, Pete Wilson, Jerry Brown
, and George Deukmejian—celebrities including rock bands Korn and Orgy, and grassroots organizations across the state. In the final 10 days of the campaign, Nicholas launched an 11th-hour television and drive-time radio advertising blitz, personally recording spots featuring politicians and celebrities, as well as recounting his own family's tragedy. Prop. 66 was defeated with 53.2% of California voters opposing the measure. The defeat marked the largest reversal of fortune on record in California electoral politics, with Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, describing the outcome as "unprecedented." In February, 2005, Nicholas was presented with an award by the Southern California Association of Broadcasters for his effective use of radio advertising during the campaign
California voters amended the constitution in 2008 by easily passing Marsy's Law 54% to 46%, despite a well-financed media campaign against it and opposition from nearly every major newspaper in the state. Since its passage, Marsy's Law has had a major impact on California's justice system, as victims exercise their legal standing and 17 enumerated rights in the judicial process. Prosecutors now undergo training in Marsy's Law and law enforcement personnel promptly apprise victims of their Marsy's Rights, just as they inform the accused of their Miranda Rights. Marsy's Law has resulted in much longer denials of inmate paroles and has played a pivotal role in several high-profile cases. In the case of Chelsea King, who was raped and murdered in San Diego in 2010 by paroled sex offender John Gardner, the new law was applied to protect her family from the release of autopsy photographs to the media.
In the most significant case to date relying on Marsy's Law, the California legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed, a bill requiring the state's sitting governor to notify victims and their families before commuting an inmate's sentence. Earlier, San Diego's District Attorney, citing Marsy's Law's notification requirements, sued to nullify former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision on his last day in office to cut the sentence of the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
. Estaban Nunez pleaded guilty in the 2008 fatal stabling of Luis Santos outside a fraternity party in San Diego.
In 2009, Nicholas formed Marsy's Law
for All, which is dedicated to providing expertise and resources to empower victims’ rights organizations nationwide, with the objective of enacting the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ensure victims’ rights for all Americans
Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel, Nicholas in 2008 opened his first Nicholas Academic Center
in downtown Santa Ana, California
. Nicholas pledged $10 million over 20 years to the project. The centers provide a safe and nurturing school environment to help underprivileged students realize their educational goals. The second center opened in 2009 on the campus of Valley High School in Santa Ana. The first graduating class consisted of 24 high school seniors who received scholarships to leading four-year colleges and universities, including UCLA, Allegheny College, Denison University, UC San Diego, UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton.
In 2004, Nicholas announced a $10-million gift to St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in Orange County and the formation of a partnership with UC Irvine’s engineering school to explore the application of technology to enhance learning. In addition, Nicholas provides St. Margaret scholarships to students from Santa Ana.
Nicholas also supports the Oakland Military Institute, founded by former-Gov. Jerry Brown
, donated a new wing to the Mt. Olive School for middle-school aged girls in Kenya
and is a donor to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California.
and computer science
programs at the University of California, Irvine. He established The Nicholas Prize, administered by CalIT2 at UC Irvine, which recognizes innovative collaborative research.
He continues to support the UCI Center for Pervasive Communications and Computing and the Center for Embedded Computing Systems.
He has supported UCLA’s School of Engineering through Nicholas Endowment grants to its summer research program, as well as supporting the UCLA Astronomy Department’s Planetarium
.
The Nicholas Foundation also supports Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, another partnership with the Episcopal Diocese affiliated with Chefs Center and located in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Central Los Angeles.
and Marine Corps
. It was held in August 2007 at the stadium at Cal State Fullerton and broadcast worldwide on ESPN and armed forces networks.
Nicholas served as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Commission in Southern California.
And as noted above, he also has supported “Habitat for Heroes” program.
Pacific and the Pacific Symphony, South Coast Repertory
, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Orange County Performing Arts Center.
, the Dirty Heads
, Orgy
/Julien-K, and Dead By Sunrise
, Linkin Park
frontman Chester Bennington’s solo act.
Since leaving Broadcom, Nicholas has received the following awards:
Nicholas allegedly has been linked to drugs and alcohol abuse in the last decade. In April 2008, he voluntarily checked himself into a Betty Ford
alcohol-rehabilitation program and completed treatment at Cliffside Malibu, as he struggled with divorce and the death of his stepfather.
After leaving Broadcom, Nicholas served as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently retired.
Also in December 2009, Judge Carney dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Broadcom
executives, “wiping away misconduct allegations that had plagued the Irvine-based microchip giant for years."
In dismissing federal charges that Nicholas, Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli, and other corporate officers had conspired to illegally backdate stock options, Judge Carney ruled that no crime had been committed, and that prosecutors had “intimidated and improperly influenced” witnesses, “distorted the truth-finding process and compromised the integrity of the trial.” Judge Carney went on to say that “to submit this case to the jury would make a mockery” of the defendants’ constitutional rights.
In 2006, the federal government initiated a widespread probe into the then-popular corporate practice of stock options backdating. More than two dozen executives at various companies were criminally charged, but with few resulting convictions.
Among the targets were senior executives at Broadcom. During the technology boom of the 1990s, Nicholas and Samueli granted million of Broadcom options to attract top talent and reward employees for their efforts to help create one of the world’s most successful high-technology companies.
In June, 2008, Nicholas was indicted for felony drug, conspiracy, and securities fraud relating to the backdating of options at Broadcom Corporation.
On May 28, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its appeal of Judge Carney’s dismissal of the stock option backdating charges. According to the Los Angeles Times:
Judge Carney, at the time of his December, 2009 ruling, also demanded that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Santa Ana “show cause…why the drug indictment against Dr. Nicholas should not be dismissed.” The next month the government moved to dismiss the drug charges.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur, philanthropist and leader of the victims’ rights movement. He is the co-founder, and former Co-Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom Corporation, a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company.
Nicholas served Broadcom in these positions from the company's inception in 1991 until January, 2002, and during his tenure the company grew to $1 billion in revenue faster than any other semiconductor company (48 months). Last year, Broadcom had net revenue of $4.5 billion and currently employs more than 8,338 people worldwide. In the first quarter of 2010 the company had net revenue of $1.46 billion. Broadcom, whose corporate motto is “Connecting Everything,” makes chips that power a wide range of popular consumer products, including Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
wireless headsets, Nintendo Wii video games and many leading brands of mobile phones.
In 2003, Nicholas resigned from Broadcom saying that his resignation "was driven entirely by personal issues related to family separation and divorce".
Nicholas, whose sister, Marsy, was murdered in 1983, is one of the nation's leading advocates for victims’ rights. He invested $4.8 million and was the main author of “Marsy's Law
Marsy's Law
Proposition 9 is an Amendment to the California Constitution enacted by California voters through the initiative process in the November 2008 state elections...
,” a "Victims’ Bill of Rights" California Constitutional Amendment passed by voters in November, 2008, as Proposition 9 on the ballot.. Former California Governor Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
calls Nicholas the "driving force" behind Marsy's Law. Four years earlier, in 2004, Nicholas invested $3.5 million and orchestrated an unprecedented bipartisan campaign to defeat Prop. 66, which would have severely weakened California's "Three Strikes" law.
Through his foundation
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation is the private foundation of Henry Nicholas, a philanthropist, victims' rights advocate, and co-founder and former co-chairman, president, and CEO of Broadcom Corporation....
, Nicholas is a supporter of education initiatives, including two Nicholas Academic Centers
Nicholas Academic Centers
The Nicholas Academic Centers provide after‐school tutoring and mentoring for high school students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. The two Centers—NAC I in downtown Santa Ana , and NAC II on the campus of Valley High School —serve hundreds of students on a daily basis throughout the...
in Santa Ana, California, which provide free after-school tutoring for high school students. As a child, Nicholas suffered from dyslexia and credits the special attention and mentoring he received as a key reason for his later success in academia and in business. The foundation also supports institutions such as UCLA and UC Irvine and programs in medical research, youth sports, national defense and other areas.
Nicholas is ranked number 236 on the 2009 list of Forbes' richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
Early life and education
Nicholas was born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to Marcella
Marcella Leach
Marcella Nicholas Leach is an American victims' rights advocate based in Southern California and the mother of technology entrepreneur and victims’ rights leader Henry Nicholas. After the murder of her daughter, Marsalee Nicholas in 1983, she helped build Justice for Homicide Victims, one of...
and Henry T. Nicholas Jr., and lived in Glendale, Ohio
Glendale, Ohio
Glendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,188 at the 2000 census. It is site of the Glendale Historic District.-Geography:Glendale is located at ....
until he was 4 years old. His father was an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
with the IRS and his mother was a teacher and later an administrator and theater instructor in the Princeton School District. When his parents divorced, he moved with his mother and sister to Los Angeles, California.
His mother remarried, to Robert Leach
Bob Leach
Robert Warnes Leach was an American journalist and Hollywood screenwriter who became a leading figure in California's victims' rights movement after the death of his stepdaughter, Marsalee Nicholas in 1983....
, a journalist and Hollywood screenwriter, who authored feature film scripts and episodes of such classic television shows as Perry Mason and Sea Hunt. Nicholas attended elementary schools in Malibu and Santa Monica High School.
Throughout his schooling, Nicholas suffered from dyslexia.
He received a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the UCLA, after attending the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Nicholas earned a Masters Degree and PhD. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. His doctoral dissertation on “Architectures, Optimization Techniques, and VLSI Implementations for Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizers” became the basis for the development of the chip that launched Broadcom.
Early career
After graduating from UCLA in 1987, Nicholas worked at TRWTRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
in Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, where he met Dr. Henry Samueli, his future business partner who also was a professor of engineering at UCLA. Nicholas later moved to PairGain Technologies in Cerritos, California
Cerritos, California
Cerritos is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956...
, where he was director of Microelectronics. He left PairGain in 1991 to start Broadcom Corporation with Samueli.
Broadcom
Nicholas founded Broadcom with Samueli in the spare bedroom of Nicholas’ Redondo Beach condominium in 1991. Each invested $5,000 of his own money to get the business off the ground. They took the company public in 1998.From the end of 1998 through 2002 revenue at the company increased fivefold, from $216 million to $1.082 billion, and hiring of full-time employees increased sixfold: from 411 to 2,500. During this time, Broadcom acquired 22 companies and was issued 120 patents. Today, Broadcom is a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company with revenue in 2009 of $4.49 billion, 7,407 employees and 3,800 patents. Revenue for the first quarter of 2010 was $1.46 billion.
The company currently hold or has pending more than 13,000 patents. The company is known for its strong engineering culture, Nearly 6,000 of its employees—75% of its workforce—are R&D engineers and more than 600 of these have PhDs.
Broadcom makes chips that run mobile phones, cable modems, set-top boxes, Wi-Fi routers, digital TVs and office data centers. Its products enable voice, video, data and multimedia communication in homes, offices and across mobile networks. The company’s products target three end market segments—the home, handheld products and networking infrastructure—encompassing over 20 lines of business. Broadcom’s customer base includes such industry leaders as Sony, HP, Samsung, Motorola, Dell, Cisco, Nokia, Nortel, LG Electronics, Netgear, Alcatel-Lucent, Thomson and DirectTV.
A key focus for the company has been addressing the user experience in the home by connecting cable, game consoles, PCs, digital TV, Wi-Fi routers, VoIP and other devices. Broadcom also is focused on providing infrastructure for next-generation wired and wireless services such as cloud computing. And it is addressing the trend in smart phones to accelerate wireless connectivity that enables such features as GPS and rich widget support for news, weather, stock quotes, YouTube and Facebook. Nicholas retired from Broadcom in 2003, ostensibly to work on his marriage.
As Broadcom’s CEO, Nicholas worked with many technology leaders, including the late Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
. At the time of Jobs' death on Oct. 5, 2011, Nicholas was asked to share his recollections of Apple’s iconic co-founder, who was a major Broadcom customer. In an interview with Business Week magazine, Nicholas recalled that when Jobs would call, “it would probably be in the middle of the night.” He said Jobs “was like a bulldog…He wasn’t overbearing or unreasonable. He just had incredibly high expectations.” Nicholas also recalled another side to Jobs: “Once he had satisfied his need for information, he would mellow. We talked about music.” He said Jobs’ drove everyone he worked with to make “technology simpler to use instead of more complex, and he made me feel like I was taking part in something special.”
Philanthropy
The Henry T. Nicholas, III FoundationThe Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation is the private foundation of Henry Nicholas, a philanthropist, victims' rights advocate, and co-founder and former co-chairman, president, and CEO of Broadcom Corporation....
focuses on improving the quality of life through investments in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, youth sports, medicine, technology, law enforcement and national defense.
Criminal Justice & Victims' Rights
Nicholas’ sister was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend while Nicholas was in graduate school in 1983. He helped his parents—Robert and Marcella LeachMarcella Leach
Marcella Nicholas Leach is an American victims' rights advocate based in Southern California and the mother of technology entrepreneur and victims’ rights leader Henry Nicholas. After the murder of her daughter, Marsalee Nicholas in 1983, she helped build Justice for Homicide Victims, one of...
—found Justice for Homicide Victims, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports families of murder victims. He was the 2005 recipient of the Ronald Reagan Award for Pioneering Achievement in Criminal Justice, and has been honored frequently by law enforcement organizations for his work supporting victims’ rights.
In 2004, California voters were considering Proposition 66, which would have eliminated much of the state's Three Strikes Law
Three strikes law
Three strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...
and resulted in thousands of felons being released from state prisons. Twelve days before the election, polls showed Prop. 66 held a seemingly insurmountable lead and was headed toward passage with as much as 75% of the vote. Nicholas became involved and organized a bipartisan coalition of elected officials, including the living California Governors—Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
, Pete Wilson, Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
, and George Deukmejian—celebrities including rock bands Korn and Orgy, and grassroots organizations across the state. In the final 10 days of the campaign, Nicholas launched an 11th-hour television and drive-time radio advertising blitz, personally recording spots featuring politicians and celebrities, as well as recounting his own family's tragedy. Prop. 66 was defeated with 53.2% of California voters opposing the measure. The defeat marked the largest reversal of fortune on record in California electoral politics, with Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, describing the outcome as "unprecedented." In February, 2005, Nicholas was presented with an award by the Southern California Association of Broadcasters for his effective use of radio advertising during the campaign
California voters amended the constitution in 2008 by easily passing Marsy's Law 54% to 46%, despite a well-financed media campaign against it and opposition from nearly every major newspaper in the state. Since its passage, Marsy's Law has had a major impact on California's justice system, as victims exercise their legal standing and 17 enumerated rights in the judicial process. Prosecutors now undergo training in Marsy's Law and law enforcement personnel promptly apprise victims of their Marsy's Rights, just as they inform the accused of their Miranda Rights. Marsy's Law has resulted in much longer denials of inmate paroles and has played a pivotal role in several high-profile cases. In the case of Chelsea King, who was raped and murdered in San Diego in 2010 by paroled sex offender John Gardner, the new law was applied to protect her family from the release of autopsy photographs to the media.
In the most significant case to date relying on Marsy's Law, the California legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed, a bill requiring the state's sitting governor to notify victims and their families before commuting an inmate's sentence. Earlier, San Diego's District Attorney, citing Marsy's Law's notification requirements, sued to nullify former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision on his last day in office to cut the sentence of the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez has been a labor union adviser and a Democratic politician. He served three two year terms as a member of the State Assembly, leaving office late in 2008...
. Estaban Nunez pleaded guilty in the 2008 fatal stabling of Luis Santos outside a fraternity party in San Diego.
In 2009, Nicholas formed Marsy's Law
Marsy's Law
Proposition 9 is an Amendment to the California Constitution enacted by California voters through the initiative process in the November 2008 state elections...
for All, which is dedicated to providing expertise and resources to empower victims’ rights organizations nationwide, with the objective of enacting the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ensure victims’ rights for all Americans
Education
Partnering with retired Orange CountyOrange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel, Nicholas in 2008 opened his first Nicholas Academic Center
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation
The Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation is the private foundation of Henry Nicholas, a philanthropist, victims' rights advocate, and co-founder and former co-chairman, president, and CEO of Broadcom Corporation....
in downtown Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
. Nicholas pledged $10 million over 20 years to the project. The centers provide a safe and nurturing school environment to help underprivileged students realize their educational goals. The second center opened in 2009 on the campus of Valley High School in Santa Ana. The first graduating class consisted of 24 high school seniors who received scholarships to leading four-year colleges and universities, including UCLA, Allegheny College, Denison University, UC San Diego, UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton.
In 2004, Nicholas announced a $10-million gift to St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in Orange County and the formation of a partnership with UC Irvine’s engineering school to explore the application of technology to enhance learning. In addition, Nicholas provides St. Margaret scholarships to students from Santa Ana.
Nicholas also supports the Oakland Military Institute, founded by former-Gov. Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
, donated a new wing to the Mt. Olive School for middle-school aged girls in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and is a donor to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California.
Technology
Nicholas has made major contributions to the engineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
programs at the University of California, Irvine. He established The Nicholas Prize, administered by CalIT2 at UC Irvine, which recognizes innovative collaborative research.
He continues to support the UCI Center for Pervasive Communications and Computing and the Center for Embedded Computing Systems.
He has supported UCLA’s School of Engineering through Nicholas Endowment grants to its summer research program, as well as supporting the UCLA Astronomy Department’s Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
.
Episcopal Church
Nicholas has a close relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and its Bishop, J. Jon Bruno. The Nicholas Foundation partnered with the Diocese to establish Chefs Center of California, a small-business incubator in Pasadena, California, that enables culinary entrepreneurs to start and accelerate the successful growth of their enterprises. The Foundation has provided primary financial support for the Chefs Center in the form of a $1,350,000 contribution. The Center, which opened in May 2009, provides professional commercial kitchen space at an average rate of $20/hour and based on a sliding scale according to financial need. The incubator is home to more than 30 entrepreneurs and has launched numerous successful restaurants, catering operations and specialty food companies.The Nicholas Foundation also supports Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, another partnership with the Episcopal Diocese affiliated with Chefs Center and located in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Central Los Angeles.
Habitat for Humanity
Nicholas and his Foundation have been a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity, helping to build Gordon’s House in honor of Rev. Gordon Yeaton, an Episcopal priest and Habitat for Humanity board member who died in 2007. The Foundation has also supported Habitat’s Homes for Heroes, a neighborhood in San Juan Capistrano for disabled veterans and surviving families of veterans who gave their lives in service.National Defense
Nicholas established the first-ever American Heritage Bowl Game for Historically Black Colleges, co-sponsored by the NavyNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
and Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
. It was held in August 2007 at the stadium at Cal State Fullerton and broadcast worldwide on ESPN and armed forces networks.
Nicholas served as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Commission in Southern California.
And as noted above, he also has supported “Habitat for Heroes” program.
The Arts
The Nicholas Endowment, Dr. Nicholas supports OperaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Pacific and the Pacific Symphony, South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Orange County Performing Arts Center.
Music and Media
Nicholas has been instrumental in the success of a number of high-profile groups and artists, including SublimeSublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, the Dirty Heads
The Dirty Heads
The Dirty Heads are a Reggae rock band from Southern California with a melodic style that includes hip hop and punk genres. Their debut album, Any Port in a Storm, was released on September 23, 2008, by Executive Music Group .-History:...
, Orgy
Orgy (band)
Orgy is an American synth rock band formed in 1996, from Los Angeles, California. Orgy described their music as "death pop".-History:Orgy was formed in 1996 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck. Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt soon completed the line-up...
/Julien-K, and Dead By Sunrise
Dead by Sunrise
Dead by Sunrise is an American rock band. It is the side project of Linkin Park's lead vocalist and songwriter, Chester Bennington. The band also features Amir Derakh, Ryan Shuck, Brandon Belsky, Elias Andra, and Anthony "Fu" Valcic from Julien-K and Orgy...
, Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
frontman Chester Bennington’s solo act.
Awards
During his tenure as Broadcom CEO Nicholas was the recipient of an Orange County Titan Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Electronics, was named as one of the Top 20 Entrepreneurs by Red Herring magazine and one of the World’s Top 50 Cyber Elite by Time Digital Magazine.Since leaving Broadcom, Nicholas has received the following awards:
- Ronald Reagan Award for Pioneering Achievement in Victims' Rights
- UCI 1st recipient of UCI School of Engineering “ Engineering The Future” award to recognize outstanding achievements in engineering, leadership and industry
- UCLA School of Engineering Alumni of the Year Award
- Association for Deputy District Attorneys Criminal Justice Award for Prop. 66 campaign
- Crime Victims United Award for work on Proposition 66
- Orange County District Attorney Office 2005 Public Safety Award for Prop 66
- San Diego Deputy District Attorneys Awarded the “San Diegans Against Crime Leadership Award 2005”
- Santa Barbara District Prosecutors Award—Appreciation for helping defeat proposition 66 on Nov. 2, 2004
- Lifetime Achievement Award by The Joyful Child Foundation
- Parents of Murdered Children, Inc (POMC) Empty Shoe Award (8/8-10)
- Crime Survivors Star Light, Star Bright award for contribution to crime victims’ rights.
- The National Crime Victim Law Institute Award for Commitment to Crime Victims Rights in Oregon and California
- Assemblyman Todd Spitzer’s Yes on Prop 9: Marsy’s Law Committee In Pursuit of Justice Award for 2008
- Alumni Association Santa Monica High School Alumni Hall of Fame
Personal
Nicholas married in 1987; he and his former wife Stacey, a former electrical engineer, have three children, Brett, Matthew, and Shelby. Nicholas is now divorced and lives in Newport Coast, California.Nicholas allegedly has been linked to drugs and alcohol abuse in the last decade. In April 2008, he voluntarily checked himself into a Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
alcohol-rehabilitation program and completed treatment at Cliffside Malibu, as he struggled with divorce and the death of his stepfather.
After leaving Broadcom, Nicholas served as a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently retired.
Federal investigations
In December 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney in Santa Ana, CA., threw out securities fraud charges against Nicholas and one month later the government dropped drug distribution charges against him.Also in December 2009, Judge Carney dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
executives, “wiping away misconduct allegations that had plagued the Irvine-based microchip giant for years."
In dismissing federal charges that Nicholas, Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli, and other corporate officers had conspired to illegally backdate stock options, Judge Carney ruled that no crime had been committed, and that prosecutors had “intimidated and improperly influenced” witnesses, “distorted the truth-finding process and compromised the integrity of the trial.” Judge Carney went on to say that “to submit this case to the jury would make a mockery” of the defendants’ constitutional rights.
In 2006, the federal government initiated a widespread probe into the then-popular corporate practice of stock options backdating. More than two dozen executives at various companies were criminally charged, but with few resulting convictions.
Among the targets were senior executives at Broadcom. During the technology boom of the 1990s, Nicholas and Samueli granted million of Broadcom options to attract top talent and reward employees for their efforts to help create one of the world’s most successful high-technology companies.
In June, 2008, Nicholas was indicted for felony drug, conspiracy, and securities fraud relating to the backdating of options at Broadcom Corporation.
On May 28, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its appeal of Judge Carney’s dismissal of the stock option backdating charges. According to the Los Angeles Times:
- “The decision brought to a close a two-year legal battle between the billionaire executives and the Justice Department.”
- “Late Friday, Nicholas released a statement that said, ‘The decision by the Department of Justice reconfirms my faith in our criminal justice system.”
- “In December, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney dismissed the charges against Samueli and Nicholas, accusing prosecutors of a "shameful" campaign to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions.”
Judge Carney, at the time of his December, 2009 ruling, also demanded that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Santa Ana “show cause…why the drug indictment against Dr. Nicholas should not be dismissed.” The next month the government moved to dismiss the drug charges.
See also
- Henry SamueliHenry SamueliHenry Samueli is co-founder, senior vice president, and chief technology officer of the Broadcom Corporation, owner of the Anaheim Ducks, and a prominent philanthropist in the Orange County, California community. In 2007 Forbes placed Samueli's net worth at $2.3 billion. He currently resides in...
- BroadcomBroadcomBroadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
- Marsy's Law
- The Henry T. Nicholas, III FoundationThe Henry T. Nicholas, III FoundationThe Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation is the private foundation of Henry Nicholas, a philanthropist, victims' rights advocate, and co-founder and former co-chairman, president, and CEO of Broadcom Corporation....
- Nicholas Academic CentersNicholas Academic CentersThe Nicholas Academic Centers provide after‐school tutoring and mentoring for high school students in the Santa Ana Unified School District. The two Centers—NAC I in downtown Santa Ana , and NAC II on the campus of Valley High School —serve hundreds of students on a daily basis throughout the...
- Bob LeachBob LeachRobert Warnes Leach was an American journalist and Hollywood screenwriter who became a leading figure in California's victims' rights movement after the death of his stepdaughter, Marsalee Nicholas in 1983....
- Marcella LeachMarcella LeachMarcella Nicholas Leach is an American victims' rights advocate based in Southern California and the mother of technology entrepreneur and victims’ rights leader Henry Nicholas. After the murder of her daughter, Marsalee Nicholas in 1983, she helped build Justice for Homicide Victims, one of...