Real estate heir David Bren is under fire after allegedly scamming investors out of $2 million with a fake ultra-luxury car club called “The Bunker.”

In one of the coldest lines you’ll ever hear in a family drama, real estate titan Donald Bren officially cut ties with his son, 33‑year‑old David Bren, in a terse, twelve‑word declaration: “We do not have a personal or business relationship with this individual.”

That skeletal statement dropped just as lawsuits surfaced accusing David of peddling an ultra‑luxury car club called “The Bunker” — a supposed playground for the elite that, investors now say, never existed beyond glossy pitch decks.

With more than $2 million allegedly vanished into thin air and investor dreams turned to dust, the world is left asking: was this a son’s folly, or a meticulously constructed con?

David Bren’s “The Bunker” was billed as the ultimate man cave for California’s wealthy: imagine a private club tucked into Beverly Hills, promising access to fleets of Ferraris, Bugattis, and Porsches; curated dinners, rare wines, cigars, valet services, and soirées with celebrity founders.

He dubbed it the “SoHo House for car lovers,” charging members a jaw‑dropping $14,500 per month.

Among the names floated in the marketing materials were Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison, and NBA star Kristaps Porziņģis — though no proof has surfaced that any of them ever joined.

But cracks appeared quickly. Investors who banked six‑figure sums began pressing for explanation. One claimed he was told the deal hinged on a $90 million purchase of the famed Mr. C’s Beverly Hills Hotel — a deal that allegedly never materialized.

When investor Nanxi Lu asked for her funds back, she got back a $10,000 partial refund and a promise of “membership” that became meaningless. Others allege David bounced checks, defaulted on leases, and even squatted rent‑free in a Bel Air mansion.

The fallout has been ruinous. California courts have already handed down default judgments totaling about $2.6 million, and the lawsuits show David’s investors are growing more desperate.

Among them was tech entrepreneur Tony Chen, who poured nearly $1 million into the project before spiraling into distress.

In September 2022, Chen was found dead in his garage in what was ruled a suicide. Friends say the project consumed him — turning faith in David into financial ruin and personal despair.

Inside the Bren family, relations were already icy. Back in 2003, David’s mother, Jennifer McKay Gold, sued Donald Bren for millions in retroactive child support.

Though Donald had paid roughly $9 million in support and eventually won the case, family insiders say the public spectacle left emotional scars.

David grew up in the shadow of a father who was distant and hard to reach — traits he is now accused of weaponizing in his pitch to investors.

Those close to David say he alternated between casting his father as an absentee force and exploiting the Bren name as a golden ticket. “He acted like he could just dial dad whenever he needed leverage,” says one former associate.

Another adds, “He spun sympathy, pride, and desperation into a pitch.” But now, with David facing cold lawsuits and a father pulling the plug on their tie, the veneer has all but crumbled.

Donald Bren, 93 and worth nearly $19 billion, has long maintained a reputation for ruthlessness in business and emotional detachment in life.

Known to inspect Irvine developments personally and micromanage details down to landscaping fonts, he also demands solitude—even refusing to share elevators.

So when the scandals surrounding The Bunker reached his ears, his response was surgical, emptying any buffer emotion: his legacy, he seems to have decided, is too precious to taint with a scandalous heir.

As David braces for lawsuits, questions swirl: Could criminal charges follow? Will investors see restitution? And can any heir rise from ashes when the name stamped on the promise now lies under indictment?

In a kingdom built on castles and control, the Bunker may be his final undoing — a phantom club built on illusions, betrayal, and a father’s icy severance.