that would be mr. hugh hefner. the hollywood sign is owned by the city but the 138 acres surrounding it belongs to a group of chicago based investors who wanted to turn it into high price housing estates. the investors agreed to sell to a trust for $12.5 million if the money could be raised. they were about a million short but today mr. hefner donated $900,000! way to go hef! only in america would such an iconic landmark be in jeopardy!