Leonard Abess Jr.
Category Philanthropists
Company City National Bank of Florida
Industry Banking
What Makes Him Haute: The world still recognizes Abess for his incredible gesture of appreciation to his employees when he generously divvied up some $60 million of the $945 acquired when he sold the majority stake of the City National Bank of Florida; but today Abess continues to give back in different ways. The Trustee of the University of Miami has donated millions to establish the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, acts as chair of UM’s finance committee and is a member of the executive, investment and medical affairs committees. He also serves as a trustee of Fairchild Tropical Garden and The Nature Conservancy/ Florida Chapter.
Edmund Ansin
Category Billionaires
Company Sunbeam Broadcasting
Industry Media
What Makes Him Haute: Inheriting his family’s shoemaking fortune allowed this Miami-based billionaire, along with his father Sidney, to buy a Miami television station for $3.4 million in 1962. Today, Sunbeam Broadcasting operates WSVN Channel 7 Miami and WHDH Channel 7 Boston, two of the most prominent stations in the country. He is a big supporter of the United Way, so much so that the Broward County location is housed in a building named in memory of his parents, Sophie and Sidney Ansin.
The Ardid Family
Category Entrepreneurs
Company Key International
Industry Real Estate
What Makes Them Haute: The Ardid Family owns the real estate development firm, Key International. Within the Ardid family at Key International includes Vice Presidents Diego and Inigo Ardid and President and CEO Jose Ardid. Jose Ardid, the prominent architectturned- developer, is behind Florida’s most luxurious properties like South Beach Marriott, Eden Roc, financial Federal, Sunset Plaza and Brickell Mar. Key International has developed South Florida’s high-end real estate properties since the 1970s.
Micky Arison
Category Billionaires
Company Carnival Corporation,
Miami Heat
Industry Cruise
What Makes Him Haute: According to Forbes Micky Arison weighed in as Florida’s wealthiest resident; this Carnival Corporation chairman and CEO whose estimated net worth was about $4.7 billion as of March, is also managing general partner of the Miami Heat. Carnival, which operates 11 cruise lines, claims that at any given time, some 225,000 people are sailing on one of its 95 ships around the globe.
Adrienne Arsht
Category Philanthropists
Company Adrienne Arsht Center
Industry Performing Arts
What Makes Her Haute: For 10 years, Arsht served as Chairman of the board of TotalBank of Miami, which under her leadership, grew to have some $1.4 billion in assets. She sold the bank to Banco Popular Español in 2007 and has since dedicated her life to philanthropy. Here in Miami, Arsht became the first woman to join the Million Dollar Roundtable of United Way of Miami-Dade in 2004, and in 2008, committed more than $6 million to the University of Miami. But nothing tops her pledge of $30 million to Miami’s then-struggling Performing Arts Center, which thereby became known as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
Michael Bay
Category Entertainers
Company Bay Films
Industry Film
What Makes Him Haute: He is one of Hollywood’s most bankable directors, producing action flicks that put him in the limelight and in the black, with global ticket sales surpassing the $3 billion mark. Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor and Transformers are among his list of credits, and each film is loaded with his special brand of over-the-top effects. The Hollywood power player uses his home on North Bay Road in Miami Beach as a much-needed sanctuary after the draining filming process.
Jeff and Yolanda Berkowitz
Category Power Couples
Company Berkowitz Development Group
Industry Retail Development
What Makes Them Haute: The former attorney founded one of the premier retail development companies in South Florida. His wife, Yolanda also comes from a real estate background and is known for her community involvement as a board member for foundations such as Voices for Children and as sponsors for Miami Children’s Museum annual gala.
Michelle Bernstein
Category Originators
Company Michy’s, Sra. Martinez
Industry Hospitality
What Makes Her Haute: This Miamiborn James Beard Foundation Award winner is known for her Latin-inspired cooking and dedication to community outreach. A graduate of Johnson &Wales University, she garnered widespread acclaim for her work at Tantra and Azul at Mandarin Oriental, which was deemed the “Best New Restaurant in America” its opening year. Bernstein owns and operates a trio of restaurants with her husband/partner David Martinez, including Michy’s, Sra. Martinez and Crumb on Parchment, a quaint café in the Miami Design District. Bernstein regularly appears on a slew of national TV shows, from The Today Show to Top Chef and is currently enjoying her new role as mother to a beautiful baby boy.
Roy and Lea Black
Category Power Couples
Company Black, Srebnick, Kornspan &
Stumpf, P.A.
Industry Law/Philanthropy
What Makes Them Haute: He made a name for himself as one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the country, representing superstar athletes, political pundits, and Hollywood celebrities. She is a powerhouse fundraiser for at-risk youth, a businesswoman in her own right, heading up her eponymous company, Lea Black Enterprises, and the star of the latest installment of the Real Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Miami. This March, the couple hosted the 18th Blacks’ Annual Gala to raise money for the Consequences Program. Together they fight for social justice and have raised well over $12 million for the cause.
Wayne Boich
Category Entrepreneurs
Company Boich Group
Industry Mining
What Makes Him Haute: As CEO of Boich Group, Wayne Boich works alongside FirstEnergy as equal partners in Signal Peak Energy, a mining project with an annual coal of seven million tons—enough to fill seven trains every day with each train composed of up to 150 cars when running at full capacity. Aside from spearheading a movement that positions coal as a competitive fuel alternative, Boich is also known for hosting some of Miami’s most impressive affairs. Recently, his rooftop party at his penthouse apartment was the place to see and be seen, where music sensation AVICII performed as a special guest DJ.
Chris & Adrienne Bosh
Category Athletes/Power Couples
Company Miami Heat
Industry Basketball
What Makes Them Haute: Chris Bosh has become one of the NBA’s most beloved players. He is a three-time NBA All-Star and helped bring home the gold medal for the USA National Team in the Beijing Olympics. Since joining the Miami Heat this past season, things have really been heating up for Bosh. Aside from being part of “The Big 3” with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, he married his beautiful wife Adrienne in one most extravagant weddings in Miami in July of last year. Adrienne Bosh is a permanent fixture on the social scene, most often involved in events that aid in the betterment of the community. She acted as chair for the Dress for Success gala and is very much involved in Bosh’s eponymous charity, the Chris Bosh Foundation, which promotes social enrichment, education and physical fitness among youth, all while sitting religiously courtside to support her husband. The couple is expecting their first child together, a baby boy, this year.
