And now introducing this guy Phil Anschutz

How do you profile someone who doesn’t want to be profiled? Los Angeles Times reporter Glenn Bunting gives it the old college try in his 7,560-word overview on the Denver industrialist – and arguably L.A.’s most influential businessman (certainly the most influential one who doesn’t live in town). Anschutz, of course, is responsible for Staples Center, the upcoming entertainment center next to Staples and the Home Depot Center in Carson. He also produces family-oriented movies.

There are a few snippets that seem like fresh information – at least stuff I haven’t seen before. One of the best quotes comes from a real estate guy named George Ablah, who managed to win a court battle with Anschutz over a failed oil and gas partnership. “He thinks he is God,” Ablah tells the Times. “If you question him in any way, he will cut your legs out from under you…He is extremely lucky with those tactics.” Another nugget has him driving an old Buick until finally buying a Lexus – used. “He has been spotted in a tuxedo behind the wheel of a rented Ford Taurus en route to a Hollywood premiere,” Bunting wrote.

Too bad much of the piece quotes acquaintances and business colleagues who offer arms-length comments. It's not Bunting's fault; no one has gotten up close and personal. Anschutz has not given an interview since 1974 – and that one was with the State Historical Society of Colorado (not exactly hard-hitting). It would be nice to have Anschutz covered on a regular basis instead of the occasional 7,560-word piece.