"If you get 20 minutes with him," one observer notes, "you're in the company of few." Bren has agreed to a rare interview on the eve of the 20-year anniversary as majority company owner to reflect on a footprint of land that draws entrepreneurs and residents alike. When he sits down for an interview, he is dressed well - dark suit, large-collared blue shirt, striped tie - talks deliberately and thinks deeply, furrowing his brow as he considers the work.

Two decades have branded this the most productive and busiest time in Irvine Ranch history. Growth is reflected in millions of square feet of new commercial, industrial and retail land as well as thousands of new apartments and homes from the city of Irvine to the Newport Coast. At the same time, most of 53,000 acres on the ranch - more than half of Bren's domain - have been dedicated as permanent open space, protecting some of the most important and visually stunning chaparral and coastal landscapes in California. About 83 square miles, roughly equivalent to the combined land areas of the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, are now protected from future development as part of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve.

Bren's reach is even more remarkable considering the Irvine Ranch encompasses more than one-sixth of all Orange County. The 93,000 acres include the city of Irvine and portions of Newport Beach, Tustin, Orange, Laguna Beach, Anaheim and some unincorporated county land. More than 200,000 people live there with a job base of about 250,000 working in the business parks, high-rises and retail stores that fill the acreage once covered in citrus or grazed by livestock.

This combination of built land and preserved land is unique in American business history.

And so is Donald Bren.