A Los Angeles billionaire spent $100m on an election bid. Could it have helped the city’s housing crisis?

Experts say the amount spent on the failed campaign would not have been enough to build adequate affordable homes

Throughout billionaire Rick Caruso’s unsuccessful campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles, critics had one question: why was the real estate developer spending $100m on a race focused on homelessness, rather than simply using his wealth to build desperately needed affordable housing?

Caruso, the developer of some of Los Angeles’ most popular luxury malls, has an estimated net worth of $5.3bn. He made ending visible street homelessness the center of his mayoral campaign.