Billionaire Bren is secret owner of NY's MetLife building

The owner of the MetLife Building, one of Manhattan's most well-known skyscrapers, is not who most people think.

California billionaire Donald Bren's Irvine Co has built a 97.3 percent ownership stake in the 58-story tower in the past decade, said Dan Young, an executive vice-president at the closely held company. While Tishman Speyer is still the managing partner of the property, which it acquired in 2005 for $1.79 billion and features on its website, the company's stake in the MetLife Building has been whittled to less than 3 percent.

"It was just a matter of timing, really," Young said. "It was a very timely opportunity for us."