How Tamara built the fortune
Gustavson's wealth comes from Public Storage, the largest owner of self storage facilities in the United States. Her father, B. Wayne Hughes, started the business in 1972 with Kenneth Volk after noticing the popularity of rented storage units in Texas. The pair opened their first facility in El Cajon, California, and expanded quickly by raising money from investors through real estate partnerships, much as other property syndicators did in that era.
Over the following decades the company grew into thousands of locations, adopted its familiar orange branded doors and eventually became a publicly traded real estate investment trust on the New York Stock Exchange. Hughes kept a large shareholding and passed much of it to his children, with Tamara receiving a substantial share. Because Public Storage is listed, her fortune moves with its share price, which depends on occupancy, rental rates and the wider market for real estate investment trusts.
Self storage proved to be a resilient business. Demand comes from people moving house, downsizing, renovating or running small businesses, and operating costs are low compared with offices or hotels. That steady income, paid out largely as dividends, has made the family's holding a reliable source of cash for many years.
Companies and holdings
Her main holdings and roles include:
- A large stake in Public Storage, the self storage real estate investment trust based in Glendale, California
- A seat on the Public Storage board of trustees, which she has held since 2008
- Interests in thoroughbred horse breeding and racing, a passion shared with her late father
Public Storage also owns a sizable minority stake in Shurgard, a self storage operator in Europe, though the core of the family's fortune is the United States portfolio. Hughes bought Spendthrift Farm, a historic thoroughbred breeding farm near Lexington, Kentucky, in 2004, and the family's racing interests remain connected to that operation.
Public Storage has also grown through acquisitions, buying other storage operators and portfolios as the industry consolidated. In recent years it has spent heavily on building new facilities and on technology that lets customers rent units online without visiting an office. Those investments, along with the dividends it pays, are what drive the value of the stake the Hughes family still holds. Gustavson has kept her shares rather than selling them off in large blocks, so her wealth remains closely tied to the company her father built.
Early life and career
Tamara Hughes was born in 1961, about a decade before her father launched the storage business. She grew up in Southern California as Public Storage expanded from a single site into a national chain, so the company was part of family life throughout her childhood and teenage years. Her father was a graduate of the University of Southern California and remained closely tied to the school, and the family has kept that connection.
As an adult she took on a role as an owner and director rather than as a manager. She joined the Public Storage board in 2008, giving the Hughes family a direct voice in its governance alongside independent trustees. Her brother, B. Wayne Hughes Jr., also became a shareholder and board member, and the two siblings together represent the founding family's interest in the company. She married and took the surname Gustavson.
Philanthropy and public life
Gustavson keeps a low profile and is seldom quoted in the press. Most public mentions of her relate to her board seat at Public Storage and to thoroughbred racing, where horses connected to her and her family have competed in major American races.
Her father was a generous donor to the University of Southern California and to causes in Kentucky, including support for veterans and for local communities near his horse farm. Tamara's own charitable activity is less documented. Any personal giving she makes appears to be handled privately, and she has not set up a large foundation that publishes regular grant information under her name. Her public life centers on the company board and the racetrack, and she has avoided political or media roles.